Australian shares are set for a cautious opening, with ASX futures slightly up by 0.04% or 3 points to 7,687 this morning – despite a buoyant session in the US where major indices edged higher.
The Dow Jones index was up 0.2%, the S&P 500 gained 0.6% and the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.8%.
At the same time, the Australian dollar was flat at 65.56 US cents.
Eyes on RBA today
The local focus has shifted to the Reserve Bank of Australia's (RBA) policy statement and Governor Michele Bullock's press conference this afternoon, with the market expecting and hoping for no change in interest rates.
Overnight in the US, Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) led gains, surging more than 6% following an announcement of price hikes for its Model Y vehicles.
Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) also advanced by more than 4%, buoyed by news of potential collaboration with Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) on AI technology.
Meanwhile, Nvidia saw modest gains ahead of CEO Jensen Huang's keynote at its developer conference.
Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) revised its Federal Reserve rate cut forecast, now expecting three cuts of 25 basis points each in 2023, down from four, while maintaining its faith in a soft-landing scenario.
Market odds for a June rate cut fluctuated, pointing to investor caution amid ongoing inflation concerns.
Back home, the board of Australia's largest listed supplier of building products Boral has recommended that shareholders reject a buyout offer from diversified investor Seven Group, saying it doesn’t represent appropriate value for minority shareholders.
The board says each director who holds Boral shares plans to reject the offer.
In other news, KMD Brands is set to release its results, and several ASX-listed companies, including Auckland International Airport, Credit Corp and SEEK, will trade ex-dividend.
CVC is testing the debt market's reception for its $1.8 billion acquisition of APM, indicating a dynamic corporate finance landscape.
Commodities and currencies
Commodities remain a key focus, with Brent crude advancing by 1.7% to $US86.76 a barrel amid reduced exports from major OPEC producers.
Iron ore prices also saw a significant lift, increasing by 4.1% to US$104.00 a tonne, buoyed by optimistic industrial production data from China.
Gold edged higher, with spot gold rising 0.2% to US$2,159.46 per ounce, reflecting continued investor interest in safe-haven assets.
Market snapshot
- Australian dollar: Flat at 65.57 US cents.
- S&P 500: +0.6% to 5,149 points.
- Nasdaq: +0.8% to 16,103 points.
- FTSE: -0.1% to 7,723 points.
- EuroStoxx: -0.2% to 504 points.
- Spot gold: +0.2% to $US2,159/ounce.
- Brent crude: +1.8% to $US86.90/barrel.
- Iron ore: +4.1% to $US104.00/tonne.
- Bitcoin: -0.8% to $US67,342.
What’s happening in small caps?
The S&P/ASX Small Ordinaries closed at 3,029.70 yesterday. Making news this morning: