The ASX200 could go either way today – futures are pointing to a 0.2% or 15-point gain at opening of trade, but a mixed performance by US markets and minimal movement in Europe has set the stage for a day of uncertain training.
A slew of company quarterly results is likely to weigh on the market as well – the RBA will release its annual report today, alongside earnings updates from ResMed, UnibailRodamco-Westfield and Whitehaven Coal (ASX:WHC).
Adairs, Aussie Broadband, CAR Group, Cleanaway Waste Management (NYSE:WM), Cochlear, Helloworld Travel, Qantas and Pinnacle Investment Management will all host annual general meetings today, adding to the noise.
US and European markets
US markets weren’t sure which way to jump overnight, but there were several standouts.
Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) soared 21.9%, set to add US$100 billion to its market cap after lifting forward sales predictions by 20% to 30% for next year on top of solid third quarter profits.
The jump in the stock price follows two weeks of declines, returning Tesla’s share price to pre-October levels.
The United States Parcel Services (UPS), often considered a bellwether of US economic activity, lifted 5.3% as sales and profits lifted.
Higher costs and weaker Nevada output saw Newmont Mining (NYSE:NEM) shares drop 14.7%, dragging the larger materials sector down 1.4% with it.
IBM (NYSE:IBM) also fell 6.2% on missing third-quarter revenue estimates, and aerospace manufacturer Honeywells shed 5.1% on downgrading annual sales estimates.
Declining blue chips weighed heavily on the Dow Jones, which lost out for its fourth straight session to shed 141 points or 0.3%.
The Nasdaq added 139 points or 0.8% and the S&P500 gained 0.2%.
In Europe, trading was subdued. Travel and leisure stocks lifted 3.2% while the chemicals sector dropped 0.7%.
An unexpected increase in quarterly revenue bumped shares of French automaker Renault (EPA:RENA) 4.7%.
Both the FTSE300 and the UK FTSE100 lifted just 0.1%.
Currencies and commodities
The US dollar also had a mixed performance in overnight trading.
The Euro lifted from US$1.0769 to highs near US$1.0830 by the US close, the Aussie fell from 66.60 US cents to around 66.40 US cents and the Yen gained from 152.38 yen per US dollar to near JPY151.85 at the US close.
Global oil prices dropped by 0.8% in volatile trading on Thursday, driven by concerns that slow economic growth in Europe could reduce energy demand.
This uncertainty, coupled with ongoing conflict in the Middle East, were two of the main drivers of market tension ahead of the upcoming US presidential election.
Brent crude prices fell by 58 US cents or 0.8% to US$74.38 per barrel and US Nymex crude by 58 US cents or 0.8% to US$70.19 per barrel.
Copper futures rose 0.3%, but aluminium futures declined 0.6%. Iron ore also fell, shedding US22 cents or 0.2% to US$104.40 a tonne as mixed production data and a softer global steel market outlook weighed the base metal down.
Gold rose, benefiting from the general market confusion, lifting by US$19.50 or 0.7% to US$2,748.90 an ounce. Spot gold was trading near US$2,736 an ounce at the US close.