Morning Wrap: ASX 200 to fall ahead of CPI report, S&P 500 tumbles in the last hour of trade

The S&P 500 sold off in the last hour of trade to finish the session in negative territory, Trump Media and Technology Group briefly soared as much as 60% as it goes public on the Nasdaq, gold prices briefly spike to US$2,200 before finishing the session marginally higher and Australian CPI data is due at 11:30 am.

Let's dive in.

S&P 500 SESSION CHART

S&P 500 tumbled in the last hour of trade to finish in negative territory (Source: TradingView)

ASX TODAY

• ASX 200 set to open lower and extend Tuesday's weakness

• Expect a relatively uneventful session as we head towards the Easter long weekend

• Australia CPI data due at 11:30 am and consensus expects inflation to tick up to 3.5% in February from 3.4% in the previous month

• Westpac says February CPI could accelerate to 3.8% as "we get an update on many services including the annual update on education prices. There is uncertainty around electricity where we expect a bounce as Government Energy Rebates come to an end."

• Platinum Asset Management turnaround plan update says targeting at least $25m in annualised run rate savings 

• Westpac Bank issues technology simplification update, guides to FY24 total investment spend of $1.8bn and $2bn annually between FY25-28

MARKETS

• S&P 500 tumbled into negative territory in the last hour of trade

• Markets expected to remain slow heading into the Easter holiday

• Gold briefly soars 1.3% to US$2,200 but ended fractionally higher

• Bitcoin eases slightly after rallying 9.6% over the past three sessions 

• Global hedge funds add more exposure to European stocks this year at expense of US stocks (Reuters)

• Invesco joins Goldman in forecasting commodities rally through year-end on rate cuts (Bloomberg)

• Cocoa surpasses US$10,000 per ton as rally continues on supply constraints (CNBC)

INTERNATIONAL STOCKS

• Visa and Mastercard reach a US$30bn settlement to limit credit-and-debit card fees for merchants (Reuters)

• Krispy Kreme shares soar as it plans to sell its doughnuts at McDonald’s (CNBC)

• Trump Media stock rises 50% at market open, lifting former President Trump's net worth to US$6.5bn (CNBC)

• Tesla offers US customers one month trial for driver-assist feature (Reuters)

• GM and Ford say supply chains will be impacted by Baltimore Bridge collapse (Reuters)

CENTRAL BANKS

• NY Fed research highlights China's effort to boost manufacturing drives risks of higher US inflation (Bloomberg)

• BoJ guidance not as dovish as markets think (Reuters)

• Traders betting BOE will begin cutting rates before Fed and ECB (Bloomberg)

• Bank of Canada poised to move ahead of US Fed on first rate cut (Reuters)

• BoE policymaker Mann says market is pricing in too many cuts (Reuters)

• Economists forecast two PBOC RRR cuts this year in bid to boost economy (Bloomberg)

ECONOMY

• US durable goods orders rebound in February after two consecutive drops (Reuters)

• US consumer confidence steady in March, inflation expectations creep up, share of consumers expecting higher rates over the year ahead rose above 50% for the first time since November 2023 (Yahoo Finance)

• German consumer confidence improves with other indicators (Reuters)

• Australia consumer sentiment eases from 20-month high in March (Reuters)

• South Korea consumer sentiment falls on higher food prices (Reuters)

• US gasoline prices set to hit US$4 a gallon, highest since Aug-2022 (Bloomberg)

Companies trading ex-dividend: 

• Wednesday, 27 March: Myer (MYR) – $0.03, Waypoint REIT (WPR) – $0.04, IPD Group (IPG) – $0.04, Garda Property (GDF) – $0.016, Rural Funds (RFF) – $0.02, Dexus Convenience Retail REIT (DXC) – $0.05, Reece (REH) – $0.08, Wiseway Group (WWG) – $0.002, 360 Capital REIT (TOT) – $0.015, 360 Capital Mortgage REIT (TCF) – $0.035, Centuria Office REIT (COF) – $0.03, Centuria Retail REIT (CIP) – $0.04, Australian Unity Office Fund (ARF) – $0.015, Arena REIT (ARF) – $0.04 

• Thursday, 28 March: Australian Clinical Labs (ACL) – $0.03, Sigma Healthcare (SIG) – $0.033

• Friday, 29 March: None

• Monday, 2 April: Regal Partners (RPL) – $0.05, Magontec (MGL) – $0.006, Harvey Norman (HVN) – $0.10 

• Tuesday, 3 April: Ridley Corp (RIC) – $0.044 

Other ASX corporate actions today: 

• Dividends paid: ASX (ASX) – $1.01, Domino’s Pizza (DMP) – $0.55, Fortescue (FMG) – $1.08, Insurance Australia (IAG) – $0.10, Santos (STO) – $0.26, Wesfarmers (WES) – $0.91, Aurizon (AZJ) – $0.09, IDP Education (IEL) – $0.25, Big River Industries (BRI) – $0.055, Briscoe (BGP) – $0.15, Turners Automotive (TRA) – $0.05, Ampol (ALD) – $1.20, Coles (COL) – $0.36, Peter Warren Automotive (PWR) – $0.08, IGO (IGO) – $0.11, Motorcycle (MTO) – $0.03 

• Listing: None

Economic calendar (AEDT):

• 11:30 am: Australia Monthly CPI Indicator (Feb)