The Australian share market looks set to rise today, catching the Kamala Harris bounce that saw US counterparts undergo a rebound yesterday.
Record donations fuel enthusiasm
The heir apparent to the Democratic presidential nomination garnered an unprecedented US$50 million in donations in her first 24 hours as the Biden’s as-yet unchallenged successor, and the enthusiasm for change seemed to catch on across the markets.
The Dow Jones index rose by 128 points or 0.3%, the S&P 500 index gained 1.1% — its best performance since June 5 — and the Nasdaq index added 281 points or 1.6%.
Attention also shifted to the commencement of the technology earnings season, with Google-parent Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) and Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) set to report on Tuesday.
Major technology stocks saw gains, with shares of Alphabet, Meta Platforms and Tesla rising between 2.2% and 5.2%.
Nvidia surged 4.8% on reports of developing compliant AI chips for the China market.
That said, cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike plummeted 13.5% after a software update caused a global tech outage on Friday.
Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) also fell 6.1% following a second-quarter revenue miss.
European share markets also closed higher yesterday as the nervous members of the NATO alliance, which Trump has promised to neglect at best, took a breather for the first time in weeks.
Technology shares also rebounded 1.8% from their worst weekly drop in more than three years.
Positive sentiment was bolstered by European Central Bank (ECB) policymaker Peter Kazimir's openness to two additional interest rate cuts by the year's end, if justified by data.
The eurozone banks index was up 1.5%. Luxury firms exposed to China, such as LVMH, Kering (EPA:PRTP) and Hugo Boss, rose between 1.2% and 4.3% after Beijing's surprise rate cuts.
Conversely, Ryanair (NASDAQ:RYAAY) shares dropped 17.2% following a 46% slump in quarterly profit, attributed to a 15% decline in ticket prices.
The FTSEurofirst 300 index increased by 1%, and the UK FTSE 100 index rose by 0.5%.
Currencies and commodities
In currency markets, the Euro fell from US$1.0895 to US$1.0871, the Aussie dollar dipped from 66.67 US cents to 66.31 US cents and the Japanese yen eased from 156.29 yen per US dollar to JPY157.16.
Global oil prices slumped for a second consecutive session to their lowest level in more than a month due to rising stockpiles and signs of weak demand.
Brent crude fell by 23 US cents or 0.3% to US$82.40 a barrel and the US Nymex crude price lost 35 US cents or 0.4% to US$79.78 a barrel.
Base metal prices slipped, with copper futures shedding 0.9% and aluminium futures sliding 2.3% to their lowest level in four months.
The gold futures price fell by US$4.40 or 0.2% to US$2,394.70 per ounce, while spot gold traded near US$2,397 per ounce.
Iron ore futures dipped US29 cents or 0.3% to US$108.16 per tonne as investors evaluated mixed signals from China following its Third Plenum policy meeting.
In Australia, weekly consumer confidence data is scheduled for release, with Woodside Energy Group, Lynas Rare Earths and Atlas Arteria providing quarterly operational updates.
In the US, investors await key earnings results from Alphabet, Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO), GE Aerospace, General Motors (NYSE:GM), Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT), Spotify, Tesla, UPS and Texas Instruments (NASDAQ:TXN).
Market snapshot
- ASX 200: -0.5% to 7,932 points.
- Australian dollar: -0.02% to 66.41 US cents.
- S&P 500 +1.8% to 5,564 points.
- Nasdaq: +1.58% to 18,007 points.
- FTSE: -0.53% to 8,199 points.
- EuroStoxx: +0.9% to 515 points.
- Nikkei: -1.16% at 39,599 points.
- Hang Seng: +1.25% at 17,635 points.
- Shanghai: -0.6% at 2,964 points.
- Spot gold: -0.07% % to $US2,395/ounce.
- Brent crude spot: -2.0% at $US84.94/barrel.
- Iron ore: -0.27% to $US106.5/tonne.
- Bitcoin: +0.8% to $US67,587.
Source: ABC