ASX 200 futures trading up 6 points, or (+0.07%), to 8,203, as of 8:30AM
The ASX 200 is on a six-day losing streak and it could become seven if the futures direction holds up today. Watch the iron ore miners after iron ore prices fell by 1% this weekend after Beijing left a lot of key questions around the size of its intended stimulus package unanswered. Locally, there's a boat load of pre-Christmas broker moves to get you across. We'll share those later in the Wrap. We'll also be watching DigiCo Infrastructure REIT which had a soggy debut on Friday the 13th. Will the market's biggest IPO in more than six years receive a better reaction today? Let's find out.
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Tue 24 Dec 24, 8:23am (AEDT)
Tue 24 Dec 24, 8:32am (AEDT)
US equities finished narrowly mixed in quiet Friday trading.
S&P 500 ended lower for the week after three consecutive weekly gains; Nasdaq was up for the fourth straight week with help from tech.
US Treasuries were weaker across the curve.
US Dollar index was flat; euro was stronger on French PM announcement and yen was weaker on increasingly expected BoJ hold next week.
Gold finished down 1.2%.
Bitcoin futures were up 1.7%.
WTI crude settled up 1.8%.
Apple planning major design and format changes, including thinner, foldable iPhones that will be cheaper than Pro models (WSJ)
MicroStrategy, Palantir and Axon to join Nasdaq 100 (Bloomberg)
Slower to deal with declining commercial property values, small banks ramp up use of CRE loan modifications (Bloomberg)
Global auto industry under meaningful; pressure from technological shifts, political uncertainty and competition from China (NY Times)
South Korea's finance ministry pledges to continue implementing market stabilizing measures to support economy following impeachment of president (Reuters)
China regulators say they will step up efforts to stabilize housing and equity markets and implement more effective fiscal policies (Bloomberg)
PBOC official says central bank will cut interest rates and RRR in a timely manner in 2025 (Bloomberg)
Moody's downgrades France's credit rating from Aa2 to Aa3, citing political instability that will make it harder to deal with national debt (Reuters)
ECB Governing Council member Kazaks says central banks should cut rates further, but not take them to levels that would drive economic expansion (Bloomberg)
Germany's CDU plans to campaign for February's snap election with platform of tax cuts and tougher crackdown on illegal immigration (FT)
Corporate executives, particularly from tech, reaching out and meeting with Trump (NY Times, WSJ)
Despite behind-the-scenes lobbying from business executives worried about economic impact, Trump not budging on plans to implement tariffs (WSJ)
Tariff worries drive consumer stockpiling, potentially pushing inflation higher (WSJ)
Trump has recently expressed interest in privatising the US Postal Service (Washington Post)
Trump's replacements at FTC and DoJ suggest M&A policy will have both populist and deregulatory influences (FT)
Trump transition team wants incoming administration to scrap vehicle-crash reporting requirements opposed by Tesla (Reuters)
Tue 24 Dec 24, 8:23am (AEDT)
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Goldman Sachs initiates Aussie Broadband (ASX: ABB) at NEUTRAL with $3.80 price target
Goldman Sachs initiates Superloop (ASX: SLC) at SELL with $2.10 price target
Goldman Sachs downgrades Megaport (ASX: MP1) to NEUTRAL from buy. Price target is now $8 (cut from $10.40)
Morgans upgrades Iress (ASX: IRE) to ADD from hold, price target of $10.78 (cut from $11.20)
Wilsons upgrades Iress (ASX: IRE) to OVERWEIGHT from market weight, price target of $11
Morgan Stanley upgrades Northern Star (ASX: NST) to EQUAL WEIGHT from underweight with price target of $15.60
Morgan Stanley upgrades Pilbara Minerals (ASX: PLS) to OVERWEIGHT from equal weight, price target reduced to $2.55 from $3
Morgan Stanley upgrades South32 (ASX: S32) to OVERWEIGHT from equal weight, price target increased to $3.90 from $3.30
Morgan Stanley downgrades Sandfire Resources (ASX: SFR) to UNDERWEIGHT from equal weight, price target increased to $9 from $8
Bell Potter initiates Bellevue Gold (ASX: BGL) at BUY, with price target of $1.95
Stocks trading ex-dividend:
Mon 16 Dec: Plato Income Maximiser (PL8) - 0.45%
Tue 17 Dec: Elders (ELD) - 2.37%
Economic calendar (AEDT):
Tonight: European PMIs
7:35pm: ECB President Lagarde speaks
Overnight: US PMIs
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