Strength in US share markets overnight has offered tailwinds for the Aussie bourse with futures pointing to a strong 0.7% or 60-point gain in early trading, in range of new all-time highs.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics is set to release the latest jobs data report today with expectations that unemployment will remain steady at 4.2%.
US and European markets
The Dow Jones set a new all-time high in trading overnight, driven higher by strength in financial stocks which offset weakness in the megacap tech stocks.
While it wasn’t enough to halt the market’s momentum, Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) fell 0.9% despite hitting a new high in yesterday’s session. Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) fell 0.6% and Meta 1.6%.
Bucking the trend, Nvidia gained 3.13%, having been on a strong general upward trend since CEO Jensen Huang said the demand for its upcoming Blackwell chips was “insane” earlier this month.
The stock slipped briefly yesterday as the US Government indicated it may establish caps on how many AI chips can be shipped to certain countries, but investors resumed the rally last night.
Strong profits and third-quarter results lifted the banks – Morgan Stanley (NYSE:NYSE:MS) achieved a new record-high with a 6.5% jump to shares, while First Horizon lifted 4.1% and US Bancorp (NYSE:NYSE:USB) 4.7%.
The banking index rose 1.2% and regional banks followed, up 1.5%.
There was also progress in small caps in overnight trading, with the Russell 2000 gaining 1.6%.
Airlines, too, enjoyed a day in the sun. United Airlines surged 12.4% on better-than-expected fourth-quarter profits and a US$1.5 billion share buyback program. Delta Airlines (NYSE:DAL) followed with a 6.8% gain.
Overall, the Dow rose by 337 points or 0.8% to a new record, the S&P500 0.5% and the Nasdaq 0.3% or 51 points.
Markets were more mixed in Europe.
Continental European stocks were overall lower in trading last night – overly optimistic hopes for Chinese stimulus measures coupled with underwhelming earnings results pushed luxury stocks down. LVMH fell 3.7%.
Tech also struggled across the pond, with number one chipmaking equipment manufacturer ASML (AS:ASML) shedding 5.1% and driving the tech index to a one-month low after a 1.5% dip.
The FTSE300 shed 0.2%, but a sharper-than-expected fall in British inflation (1.7% vs 1.9% surveyed) drove the FTSE100 up 1%.
Currencies and commodities
Major currencies weakened against the US dollar in overnight trading.
The Euro fell from US$1.0901 to close near US$1.0860. The Aussie dropped from US66.97 cents to near US66.65 cents and the Yen from JPY149.15 per US dollar to finish near JPY149.70.
Global oil prices continued to fall, having shed 7% over the last three sessions due to reduced oil demand and diminishing concerns over Middle East supply disruptions.
Brent fell US3 cents to US$74.22 a barrel and US Nymex by US19 cents to US$70.39 a barrel.
Base metal prices lifted, buoyed by continued hopes for further Chinese stimulus – copper futures lifted 0.7% and aluminium 0.4%.
Iron ore futures fell by US43 cents to US$106.20 a tonne, as expectations of increased supply and lower Chinese demand impacted prices.
Gold also climbed, gaining US$12.40 to US$2,691.30 an ounce as US bond yield fell ahead of a potential rate cut from the US Fed. Spot gold was trading at US$2,673.
On the small cap front
The ASX Small Ordinaries fell 0.89% of 28.6 points yesterday, following the ASX200 down as it lost 0.32%.
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