The Australian market is set to open higher after the two day break — ASX futures are up 19 points or 0.2% to 8,217.
This follows a fairly flat session in the US overnight, with only light trading following the Christmas break.
The Dow Jones index gained 0.07%, the S&P 500 ended 0.04% lower and the Nasdaq lost 0.05%. This followed a three-day winning streak heading into Christmas.
With just a few trading days left in the year, the Nasdaq, S&P 500 and the Dow have now gained 33%, 26% and 14% respectively in 2024. Each of the three has hit multiple record highs this year in anticipation of a lower interest rate environment.
US Treasury yields rose overnight — the benchmark 10-year Treasury note hit its highest since early May at 4.64%.
This weighed on some of the major tech companies as Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA), Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) and Meta Platforms slipped. Yet Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) gained as it closes in on becoming the first company in the world to reach a US$4 trillion market cap.
Currencies
- The Aussie dollar is trading 0.3% lower at around US62.20 cents.
- The Japanese Yen is up 0.3% at 157.87 yen per US dollar
- The Euro lifted 0.14% to US$1.04
Commodities
Oil gave up earlier gains due to China stimulus hopes and an industry report showing lower US inventories. Brent crude was down 0.6% at US$73.12 a barrel.
Gold lifted on safe-haven demand as investors awaited further signals on the US economy's health and amid uncertainties around President-elect Donald Trump's policies. Spot gold gained 0.8% to US$2634.19.