The ASX is looking ready to rip today following the news that US inflation cooled to 3% in June.
ASX futures were up 62 points or 0.87% to 7,158 this morning. The dollar added 1.6% against the greenback and is trading at 67.90 US cents.
US inflation cools
Global markets will be celebrating the US figures, which show that CPI has risen by the smallest annual increment – 0.2% – since March 2021.
Core inflation in June also rose to 4.8%, down from 5.3% in May.
The figures raise the tantalising prospect that the Fed is nearing the end of its rate-rising cycle and that any hike at the next meeting is likely to be the last for a while.
Big technology companies tend to be sensitive to higher interest rates and these led the charge into the green – Meta Platforms shares rose by 3.7%, while Nvidia shares gained 3.5%.
Banks did well too – shares of Citigroup (NYSE:C) and Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) were both up by nearly 2%.
On Wall Street the Dow added 0.3%, the S&P 0.7% – its highest level since April last year - and the Nasdaq rose 1.2%.
Share markets in Europe were also buoyed by the news, extending gains for the fourth day.
The continent-wide FTSEurofirst 300 index was up 1.4%, while the UK FTSE 100 index rose 1.8%.
The mining sector gained 3.8% on the back of strong metal prices.
Currencies and crude
Currencies were stronger against the US dollar in European and US trade, with the Aussie dollar a case in point.
The Euro also rose from US$1.1013 to US$1.1139 and was near US$1.1130 at the US close. The Yen went from 139.74 yen per US dollar to JPY138.19 and was near JPY138.50 at the US close.
Oil prices rose again by 1% yesterday on the softer US inflation data and the dimming threat of future rate rises.
That said, the US Energy Information Administration reported a larger-than-expected US crude stock build of some six million barrels last week.
Brent crude rose by 71 US cents or 0.9% to US$80.11 a barrel, while US Nymex crude gained 92 US cents or 1.2% to US$75.75 a barrel.
Commodities
Base metal prices, like everything else, rallied as the greenback eased.
Copper futures rose by 2.4% while aluminium futures rose by 3.1%. Gold futures were up by US$24.60 or 1.3% to US$1,961.70 an ounce.
Spot gold was trading near US$1,957 an ounce at the US close, while iron ore futures rose by US$1.27 or 1.2% to US$110.61 a tonne thanks to new loans in China.
What’s happening in small caps?
The S&P/ASX Small Ordinaries closed at 2,820.16 yesterday, up 0.14% on the previous day.
Making news this morning, which you can read more about throughout the day with Proactive are: