Australian shares look set to open lower, with futures pointing to a -0.1% drop to 8,480 early this morning.
Over in the US trading was slow as investors awaited nonfarm payroll data, which is expected to influence the Federal Reserve’s December rate decision.
The Dow Jones fell 248 points or 0.6%, the S&P 500 slipped 0.2% and the Nasdaq dropped 0.2%.
UnitedHealth (NYSE:UNH) weighed heavily on the Dow and S&P 500, with shares tumbling 5.2% after the targeted killing of Brian Thompson, CEO of its insurance unit.
Crypto takes off
Crypto seems to be having another moment, with Bitcoin climbing to fresh highs overnight, cracking the US$100,000 barrier for the first time and topping $US103,000 before retreating to settle at just under US$99,000.
Other tech stocks saw mixed results. Synopsys (NASDAQ:SNPS) plunged 12.4% following a weak fiscal 2025 revenue forecast linked to lower sales in China.
Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) gained 3.2% as analysts raised their price targets for the electric vehicle maker.
European sharemarkets rose for the sixth consecutive session.
France’s CAC 40 climbed 0.4%, supported by easing political tensions and gains in major banks.
Germany’s DAX rose 0.6%, closing above the 20,000-point mark for the third straight session, while the FTSEurofirst 300 index added 0.4%.
Currencies and commodities
Currencies were mixed against the US dollar. The Euro rose from US$1.0518 to US$1.0587, closing near US$1.0580.
The Japanese yen weakened from 149.65 yen to 150.67 yen per US dollar, ending near JPY150.10.
The Australian dollar slipped from 64.52 US cents to 64.22 US cents before finishing near 64.50 US cents.
Oil prices edged lower after OPEC+ delayed a planned output increase to April.
Brent crude fell 0.3% to US$72.09 a barrel, and WTI dropped 0.4% to US$68.30 a barrel.
Base metals softened, with copper futures down 0.2% and aluminium futures losing 0.4%.
Gold futures slid 1% to US$2,648.40 an ounce as US Treasury yields firmed, while iron ore futures remained steady at US$106.29 per tonne, backed by anticipation of China’s upcoming Central Economic Work Conference.
Looking ahead
Back home, labour account data is due, while Collins Foods shares trade ex-dividend.
In the US, investors will focus on nonfarm payroll jobs data and the University of Michigan consumer sentiment index for further economic signals.
Market snapshot
- ASX 200 futures: -0.1% to 8,480 points
- Australian dollar: +0.3% to 64.50 US cents
- S&P 500: -0.1% to 6,081 points
- FTSE: +0.2% to 8,349 points
- EuroStoxx 600: +0.4% to 519 points
- Spot gold: -0.7% to $US2,630/ounce
- Brent crude: +0.04% to $US72.34/barrel
- Iron ore: -2.4% to $US102.90/tonne
- Bitcoin: +0.9% to $US98,744
Source: the ABC