The morning catch up: ASX set for flat open ahead of inflation data

Published 08/01/2025, 09:40 am
Updated 08/01/2025, 10:00 am
© Reuters The morning catch up: ASX set for flat open ahead of inflation data

The ASX 200 Futures were down 0.1%, or about 10 points, to 8,259 this morning ahead of the release of ABS November inflation data and following a red session on Wall Street overnight.

Australia’s November CPI report is due from the ABS at 11.30am AEDT. Bloomberg economists expect it to show inflation falling to 2% year-on-year from 2.1% in October.

In month-on-month terms, a modest lift in fuel prices and higher food costs is expected to push prices higher.

While the data will be closely watched, the quarterly consumer prices figures — due January 29 — should play a greater role in the RBA’s next monetary policy decision.

US markets lower

US markets fell on Tuesday after a batch of upbeat US economic data spurred bets the US Federal Reserve won't cut interest rates again before July amid inflation pressures.

The major indices were unable to continue their two-day winning streak — the Dow Jones index fell by 178 points or 0.4%, the S&P 500 index slipped 1.1% and the Nasdaq index shed 375 points or 1.9%.

  • Stocks were also dragged by a dip in shares of Nvidia, which slid 6.2% after hitting a record high. The company on Monday had unveiled new chips for desktop and laptop PCs that use the same Blackwell architecture.
  • Palantir Technologies (NASDAQ:PLTR) shares slid 7.8% after analysts at Morgan Stanley (NYSE:NYSE:MS) assumed coverage of the software company with an underweight rating.
  • Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) slipped 4.0% after Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) downgraded the electric vehicle maker given its high valuation and risks associated with its strategy.
  • Meta Platforms and Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) fell between 2.0% and 2.4%.
  • Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) shares jumped 11.7% on its plans to develop a vaccine for bird flu.
  • Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) rose 2.7% after Nvidia boss Jensen Huang said the chipmaker was providing memory for the AI-bellwether's GeForce RTX 50 Blackwell family of gaming chips.

US government bond yields rose on Tuesday after US job openings lifted to a six-month high in November.

European markets were mixed overnight. The energy sector gained 0.8%, with Norwegian oil tanker group Frontline jumping 7.4%. The real estate sector lost 0.7%.

Annual inflation in the 20 nations sharing the euro picked up to 2.4% last month from 2.2% in November (survey: 2.4%). The continent-wide FTSEurofirst 300 index gained 0.3%. In London, the UK FTSE 100 index dipped 0.1%.

Currencies

Currencies were weaker against the US dollar in European and US trade.

  • The Euro fell from US$1.0433 to session lows near US$1.0345 at the US close.
  • The Aussie dollar dipped from US62.87 cents to US62.27 cents and was near US62.30 cents at the US close.
  • The Japanese yen slid from 157.39 yen per US dollar to JPY158.39 and was near JPY157.90 at the US close.

Commodities

Global oil prices gained on Tuesday driven by concerns over tighter supply from Russia and Iran because of Western sanctions and expected higher Chinese demand.

  • The Brent crude price rose US75 cents or 1.0% to US$77.05 a barrel.
  • The US Nymex crude price added US69 cents or 0.9% to US$74.25 a barrel.

Base metal prices rose on Tuesday.

  • Copper futures jumped 0.8%.
  • Aluminium futures gained 0.9%, drawing support from a 16% fall in available aluminium stocks in warehouses registered with the London Metal Exchange (LME).

The gold futures price rose US$18.00 or 0.7% to US$2,665.40 an ounce but pared earlier gains, pressured by a strengthening US dollar and Treasury yields after rising US job openings signalled diminishing odds of large rate cuts by the US Federal Reserve.

  • Spot gold was trading near US$2,650 an ounce at the US close.

Iron ore futures fell by US$1.60 or 1.6% to a seven-week low of US$97.84 a tonne on Tuesday, weighed down by rising stocks of the steelmaking ingredient and disappointment over a lack of further monetary stimulus in top consumer China.

What’s on?

In Australia, the monthly Consumer Price Index (CPI) indicator is released with job vacancies data.

In the US, the Federal Reserve's Open Market Committee (FOMC) December 17-18 meeting minutes are issued. The ADP (NASDAQ:ADP) employment report is scheduled with data on initial jobless claims and consumer credit.

What’s happening in small caps?

  • Orthocell Ltd (ASX:OCC, OTC:ORHHF) recorded continued growth in sales of its market-leading medical devices, Striate+™ and Remplir™. The record revenue achieved for the December 2024 quarter marks the third consecutive quarter of record revenue for the company.
  • Artemis Resources Ltd (ASX:ARV, AIM:ARV, OTCQB:ARTTF) has appointed Julian Hanna as managing director following his role as senior technical advisor, where he was pivotal in developing the company’s exploration strategy. Executive director George Ventouras has resigned.
  • Titan Minerals Ltd (ASX:TTM, OTC:TTTNF) provided an update on its Dynasty Gold Project in southern Ecuador, where it has been undertaking a 10,000-metre diamond drilling program, while also conducting exploration work programs into new prospective areas outside the current 3.1 million ounce gold and 22 million ounce silver resource.
  • Read more on Proactive Investors AU

    Disclaimer

    Latest comments

    Risk Disclosure: Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
    Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
    Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
    It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
    Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.
    © 2007-2025 - Fusion Media Limited. All Rights Reserved.