The ASX is set to start the week in the red after New York markets failed to rally on Black Friday momentum.
Futures indicate the benchmark index will open 0.15% lower, or down 9 points.
What’s new on Wall Street?
It was a mixed bag during Wall Street’s Friday session — half the major indices finished in the green, while the others posted losses.
Investors took a subdued approach following Thanksgiving celebrations and not even Black Friday frenzy could bring more money to the markets.
The Russell 2000 and the Dow led with 0.3% and 0.45% gains while the Nasdaq dropped 0.52% and the S&P finished basically flat, down 0.03%.
Seven of 11 sectors still managed to rally with real estate and utilities stocks leading the charge. Technology and comms brought up the rear, while materials and energy stocks failed to shake the uncertainty tied to China’s COVID lockdowns.
Among the large caps, Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) posted a 2% loss amid delays on the new iPhone 14 and protests at its flagship factory.
Looking ahead, there’s plenty of news set to move the needle this week: a new US labour report, a second GDP growth estimate and comments from Fed officials — including chair Jerome Powell — will keep investors busy.
Commodities and currency
Oil prices continue to scrape the bottom of the barrel, falling to their lowest point in a year as price cap discussions and COVID restrictions weigh on the market.
WTI shed 2.13% of its value to trade at US$76.28 a barrel, while a barrel of Brent Crude fell to US$79.99.
Quantum Commodity Intelligence said on Friday that structure had softened as attention in the market turned to oversupply.
“EU and G7 officials have so far failed to agree on a price ceiling for Russian crude exports, which were reported earlier this week at $65 to $70 a pound,” the price reporting agency explained.
“At that level, it would most likely maintain Russian crude exports close to current levels, removing much of the supply concerns after EU sanctions on December 5.”
Looking at the market’s favourite safe haven, gold posted a slight gain — up 0.48% — while iron ore futures jumped 0.5% to US$93.05 a tonne.
On the ASX
Bank of Queensland is on the hunt for a new CEO after the board removed chief executive George Frazis.
The search for a new leader is expected to take nine months and chairman Patrick Allaway will take on the executive chairmanship in the meantime.
“George Frazis joined BOQ in September 2019 and has overseen a return to growth in all key channels across the bank,” Allaway stated.
“However, the board has formed a view that different leadership is now required to ensure BOQ can continue to build a stronger and more resilient bank through future cycles.”
In other news, Healius expects reduced demand for COVID tests to impact its bottom line.
The company reported COVID-19 testing dropped from 13,000 tests a day in July to between 3,000 and 4,000 tests over October and November, reflecting an industry-wide drop in PCR testing.
As a result, revenue from COVID-19 testing fell 85.4% to $54 million in the last four months.
“The company is adjusting its cost base to address this demand shift, with collections now being undertaken in the core facilities and in only four COVID dedicated drive-throughs at its major laboratories,” Healius stated.