The ASX 200 Futures are pointing to a 12.3-point or 0.15% lift in early trading as of 9:00am AEDT, although with 30 annual general meetings slated for today, it could be a volatile day of trading.
Markets were mixed across the board yesterday, as escalations in the Ukraine-Russia conflict and some unconventional picks by incoming US President Donald Trump stirred financial waters into a murky mess.
US and European share markets
US markets were shaken by a report Ukraine had fired long-range UK-made missiles into Russian territory, with shares dipping about 1%.
Magnificent 7 darling Nvidia fell 0.8% ahead of its earnings report, delivered after the bell, which didn’t improve matters, despite beating analyst estimates on all core metrics.
Nvidia traditionally rises an average of about 3.8% the day after an earnings report, and 4.8% the week after, according to Dow Jones market data.
Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) also fell 1.2% and Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) 0.9%.
Target (NYSE:TGT) released sales and profit numbers below Wall Street expectations, lopping an eyewatering 21.4% off the stock’s value and dragging down other retailers. Dollar Tree (NASDAQ:DLTR) fell 2.6% and Dollar General (NYSE:DG) 4.2%.
Cryptocurrencies continued to enjoy a 'Trump Rally', with Bitcoin climbing above US$94,000.
Microstrategy listed 10.1% and MARA Holdings 14%. UnitedHealth (NYSE:UNH) rose 2.8% and Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) 4.1%, propping up the Dow Jones index on an otherwise flat day of trading.
The Dow was up 0.3% or 139.5 points but the Nasdaq fell 0.1% or 21 points and the S&P500 finished flat.
European markets told a similar story. Early gains in French, German and Spanish markets vanished as trading continued, all finishing in the red.
Automobile stocks fell 1.3%. The rate-sensitive real estate sector was the biggest point of weakness, falling 0.7% overall.
In London, inflation came in above the Central Bank’s 2% target, reducing the likelihood of more rate cuts. UK consumer prices rose by 2.3% in October, driven higher by an increase in regulated domestic energy tariffs.
The FTSE300 finished flat, while the UK FTSE100 dipped 0.2%.
Currencies and commodities
The US dollar gained in overnight trading. The Euro fell from US$1.0594 to near US$1.0540 by the US close, the Aussie from US$0.6530 to near US$0.6500 and the Japanese Yen from PY154.99 per US dollar to JPY155.45.
Oil prices fell as US crude stockpiles lifted by about 400,000 more barrels than expected. Brent crude declined US$0.50 (0.7%) to US$72.81 per barrel, while US Nymex crude dropped US$0.52 (0.7%) to US$68.87 per barrel.
Copper futures rose 0.3% as Russia’s foreign minister downplayed a nuclear response to Ukraine’s missile attack, while aluminium futures dipped 0.1%.
Iron ore rose marginally, lifting by US$0.06 (0.1%) to US$101.95 per tonne, buoyed by steady steel demand and investor optimism for additional economic stimulus from China.
Gold Futures also rose despite a strong US dollar, lifting by US$20.70 (0.8%) to US$2,651.70 per ounce as escalating geopolitical tensions surrounding the Russia-Ukraine conflict drove demand for safe-haven assets. Spot gold traded near US$2,649 per ounce by the close.
On the small cap front
The ASX Small Ordinaries fell 26.4 points or 0.84% yesterday, following the ASX200 down as it dipped 0.61% despite setting a new all-time high the day before.
You can read about the following and more throughout the day on our website.