The ASX is set to open flat this morning despite strength in US markets overnight as weaker-than-expected Chinese data weighs on commodity prices.
ASX futures are down 1 point at 6,989 at 9am AEDT.
China customs data showed imports climbed 3% from a year earlier, while exports fell 6.4%. The country’s trade surplus of US$56.5 billion was down more than 30% from US$77.7 billion in September and was a 17-month low.
TD Securities said that while the data was mixed, “our key takeaway is that the softening exports momentum may nudge authorities to tolerate further weakness in the [trade-weighted yuan] to boost exports”.
Overseas markets
In the US, the Dow Jones rose by 57 points or 0.2%; the S&P 500 gained 0.3% and the Nasdaq added 121 points or 0.9%, their longest streak of gains in two years.
Investors brushed off Federal Reserve policymakers' warnings overnight that it’s too soon to know what the full effects of the recent rise will be and whether more work is needed to tame inflation.
US Government bond yields fell as bond investors continued to price in expectations that the Federal Reserve is near the end of its tightening cycle.
Falling US Treasury yields supported megacap growth stocks with Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT), Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) and Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) all rising by 1.1% to 2.1%.
Semiconductor stocks Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ:AMD), Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) and Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) gained between 1.5% and 2.2% ahead of the rollout of funding from the Chips Act.
Uber Technologies rose 3.7% as the ride-hailing firm projected fourth-quarter adjusted core profit above estimates. Datadog surged 28.5% on raising its forecast for annual adjusted profit and revenue. Gen Digital shares soared 8.5% after the cybersecurity company reported better-than-expected quarterly revenue.
In Europe, the continent-wide FTSEurofirst 300 index fell by 0.2%. In London, the UK FTSE 100 index dipped 0.1% as Bank of England chief economist Huw Pill hinted that rate cuts may be on the table in 2024.
Commodities
Global oil prices fell over 4% to their lowest since late July on Tuesday on concerns around weak trade data out of China — the world’s largest crude importer — and uncertainty around whether the US has finished raising rates.
The Brent crude price fell by US$3.57 or 4.2% to US$81.61 a barrel. And the US Nymex crude price was down US$3.45 or 4.3% to $77.37 a barrel.
China's crude oil imports in October showed robust growth, but its total exports contracted at a quicker pace than expected.
Base metal prices retreated on Tuesday under pressure from mixed Chinese trade data. Copper futures and aluminium futures both shed 1.1%.
The gold futures price fell by US$15.10 or 0.8% to US$1,973.50 an ounce. Spot gold was trading near US$1,968 an ounce at the US close.
Iron ore futures slid US68 cents or 0.5% to US$125.95 a tonne. Iron ore fell from its highest closing price since March on market uncertainty after China's autumn construction season ended last month.
Looking ahead
In Australian company news, James Hardie Industries releases earnings. ResMed trades ex-dividend. Allkem, Ardent Leisure Group (ASX:AAD), Breville, Chorus, Domain, Magellan Financial Group and Vulcan Steel all host AGMs.
On the small cap front
The S&P ASX Small Ordinaries closed up 0.38% yesterday, while the ASX 200 lost 0.29%.
You can read more about the following throughout the day.
Highfield Resources Ltd (ASX:HFR) has provided an update to the Muga-Vipasca Potash Project feasibility study that reconfirms the compelling economics of the project.
Galileo Mining Ltd (ASX:GAL, OTC:GLMGF) has commenced geophysical surveying along strike from the Callisto discovery at its Norseman Project in WA.
Helix Resources Ltd (ASX:HLX) today commenced reverse circulation drill testing of the Bijoux prospect in the Cobar-Nyngan area of central NSW, as part of its ongoing, aggressive target generation and testing work aimed to make new copper (and gold) discoveries.
Yandal Resources Ltd (ASX:YRL) is set to commence a 2,500-metre follow-up RC drilling program at the Ironstone Well-Barwidgee Project’s Oblique prospect, which displays similarities to Strickland’s recent Marwari discovery.
Andromeda Metals Ltd (ASX:ADN) has undertaken a review of its organisational structure following the strategic review of its corporate positioning and business strategy as it works towards a final investment decision for The Great White Project.