The ASX is set to open just 1 point higher after closing flat on Tuesday.
Benchmark futures point to a 0.01% gain at the open as US stocks close in the green and crypto claws back some ground.
What’s new on Wall Street?
New York’s major indices trended up overnight thanks to better-than-expected producer price data, boosting confidence that inflationary pressures are easing.
The Russell 2000 led the pack with a 1.151% boost, followed closely by the Nasdaq with a 1.45% gain. The S&P 500 notched a 0.87% rise and the Dow trailed with a 0.17% increase.
The news could bring the Federal Reserve one step closer to slowing its interest rate hike, so watch this space.
In other US news, technology stocks put on a strong showing as investors upped their risk appetite - Atlassian jumped 5.7%, Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) gained 2.5% and Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) leapt 1.5%.
Commodities and currency
Oil prices continue to seesaw as investors weigh the latest OPEC report against the global economic outlook.
Before the bell on Wednesday, West Texas Intermediate was up 0.84% to fetch US$86.59 a barrel, while Brent Crude jumped 1.11% to US$86.82.
Gold recorded a weak increase in value to US$1,782 an ounce, while iron ore futures notched a slight gain, up 0.4% to US$92.85 a tonne.
The Aussie dollar gained some ground against major currencies overnight — it’s currently buying 68 US cents and 57 British pence.
Major cryptocurrencies staged a slight reversal overnight, with Bitcoin and Ethereum clawing back 2% of their value.
Still, it’s far from the silver lining pundits had hoped for: Bitcoin’s returns are down 64% for the year to date, while Ethereum has dropped around 66%.
On the ASX
The Australian Securities & Investments Commission (ASIC) has barred insolvent crypto exchange FTX Trading’s Australian arm from its financial services licence.
Administrators were called into FTX Australia on Friday after its holding company imploded and investors withdrew billions of dollars.
In other news, embattled insurer Medibank is set for a charged AGM as it faces investors over the recent data breach and reports its FY23 outlook.
The company says its bottom line could take a $35 million hit in the first half of the financial year as it recovers from a hack involving data from nearly 10 million Australians.
Nevertheless, chief executive David Koczkar said there was no doubt that rejecting the ransom demand was the right thing to do and there had been no further suspicious activity has been detected since October 12.
Among today's financial reports, Graincorp says it's doubled its full-year earnings, bringing home a $380 million net profit after tax in the process.
Shareholders can expect 54 cents per share thanks to the earnings — a solid increase on the 18-cent dividend in FY21.
Nufarm is also on the earnings board today — it’s reported a 24% leap in full-year earnings and a 17% jump in revenues to $3.8 billion.
Shareholders will take home a 6-cent final dividend for every share held, bringing their total takeaway for the year to 10 cents per share.