Australian shares are poised to rise, mirroring Wall Street in volatile trading on a mixed bag of corporate earnings and weak economic data. US consumer confidence plunged to a five-year low. But investors looked past the data to send the S & P 500 to its best six-day advance since 2022, gaining up to 7.5%.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent predicted China could lose 10 million jobs quickly due to tariffs, but signalled progress on trade deals with other countries including Japan and India. The White House said Donald Trump would lift some auto tariffs.
BP fell as much as 4.7% after investors were disappointed by its plan to turn around years of poor performance. Spotify plunged 9.6% after it missed projected profits for the quarter and had a muted outlook for growth.
The Canadian dollar slipped after a narrow federal election win for Mark Carney’s Liberal Party set the stage for more sluggish policymaking and looser fiscal spending.
Market highlights
ASX futures are pointing up 15 points or +0.2 per cent to 8099
All US prices are as of 2.30pm New York time.
AUD -0.6% to 63.90US¢
-0.6% to 63.90US¢ Bitcoin +1.4% to $US95,191
+1.4% to $US95,191 On Wall St: Dow % S & P 0% Nasdaq %
% 0% % VIX down 0.66 points to 24.49
down 0.66 points to 24.49 Gold -0.7% to $US3319.46 an ounce
-0.7% to $US3319.46 an ounce Brent oil -2.4% to $US64.27 a barrel
-2.4% to $US64.27 a barrel Iron ore +0.1% to $US98.55 a tonne
+0.1% to $US98.55 a tonne 10-year yield: US 4.16% Australia 4.18%
Today’s agenda
The focus is on today’s CPI reading – the core consumer price index is expected to increase 0.7 per cent in the first quarter, taking the annual rate to within the Reserve Bank’s target range of 2 per cent to 3 per cent.
In the US, Microsoft is set to report, and Amazon will report on Thursday with suggestions both tech giants may be cutting back on their spending on artificial intelligence infrastructure.
Top stories
Big super is questioning its exposure to the magnificent seven | Regulatory filings show the country’s biggest retirement funds made billion dollar bets on American technology giants ahead of Donald Trump’s inauguration.
Coalition counts on One Nation preferences to narrow gap | Almost nine in 10 preferences from One Nation and other right-wing minor parties are flowing towards the Coalition in some heartland Labor seats it is targeting.
Albanese’s budget deficit ‘lie’ challenged | The prime minister insists his government turned a $78 billion deficit into a surplus, despite the deficit never materialising.
Banks can’t afford to bust the defensive myth propping up share prices | It’s amazing how we all get sucked into short-term market narratives. Do we really think highly leveraged banks are safe havens? Surely, it’s a fad, writes Anthony Macdonald.
Silicon Valley’s Stripe eyeballs Tyro’s languishing share price | Investors have become increasingly sceptical Tyro can compete against massive international rivals and the country’s major banks.