The ASX200 will likely open slightly lower today, with ASX Futures pointing to a 10-point or 0.11% drop at the opening bell.
The hesitant start to trading doesn’t come as a surprise – it’s been a tumultuous 48 hours.
There was an attempted coup by the sitting President in South Korea, only to be peacefully voted down by the National Assembly, and the Barnier Administration became the first French government to receive a vote of no confidence since 1962.
Despite the chaos, some US indices set new record highs, with the S&P500 achieving its 11th gain in 12 sessions.
US and European markets
US markets were mixed overnight, with the rally driving the S&P500 and Nasdaq to new highs showing signs of losing steam.
South Korea’s political woes drove US-listed shares lower, with the iShares MSCI South Korea ETF down 1.6%.
Telecom (BCBA:TECO2m) AT&T rose 4.6% after forecasting a US$18 billion in free cash flow for 2027.
Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) pushed the needle in the other direction, slipping 1.6% after data showed the automaker’s sales of China-made electric vehicles skipped 4.3% year-on-year in November.
Cybersecurity firm Zscaler’s second-quarter revenue forecast failed to impress, shedding 4.7% off its share price.
US Steel fell 8% after Trump again voiced his opposition to Nippon Steel's planned US$15 billion buyout.
The Dow Jones fell 76.5 points or 0.2%, while the S&P500 rose again by 0.1% and the Nasdaq added 0.4% or 77 points, both touching new all-time highs.
In Europe, retail and defence stocks led gains, rising more than 1.4% each.
Germany’s DAX rose 1.08% to notch a third straight record high, finishing above 20,230 points for the first time. Italian markets rose 1% and Spanish 1.1%.
France’s CAC40 managed to lift 0.3% despite an unsettled day of trading, closing before the no-confidence vote came through to drive the nail into the Barnier Administration’s coffin.
The FTSE300 lifted 0.4% and the UK FTSE100 gained 0.6%.
Currencies and commodities
The Aussie dollar fell against the US in overnight trading, which otherwise fell against other currencies.
The Aussie dipped from US65.03 cents to US64.80 cents, while the Yen gained from 150.20 yen per US dollar to near JPY149.50 and the Euro lifted from US$1.0481 to near US$1.0505 at the US close.
Global oil prices increased by more than 2% on Tuesday, driven by geopolitical tensions as Israel warned of potential attacks on Lebanon if its truce with Hezbollah fails.
Markets also anticipated OPEC+ might extend supply cuts. Brent crude rose by US$1.79 (2.5%) to US$73.62 a barrel and US Nymex crude gained US$1.84 (2.7%) to US$69.94 a barrel.
Base metal prices also climbed. Copper futures rose 1.7%, supported by a weaker US dollar, while aluminium futures increased by 1.2%.
Iron ore futures advanced by US76 cents (0.7%) to US$106.08 a tonne, the highest in nearly two months, driven by expectations of economic stimulus in China and seasonal steelmaker restocking.
Gold futures edged up by US$9.40 (0.4%) to US$2,667.90 an ounce, though gains were limited by a strong US jobs report. Spot gold traded near US$2,642 an ounce at the US close.
On the small cap front
The ASX Small Ordinaries fell 0.32% yesterday, mirroring the ASX200’s 0.36% fall.
You can read about the following and more on our website throughout the day.