Morning Wrap: ASX 200 to fall, Apple's iPhone 15 debut, Oil prices near 10-month high

The S&P 500 and Nasdaq faded a positive open, Apple shares struggled after a relatively underwhelming new product reveal, Bank of America says investors are no longer extremely bearish but cash levels remain elevated, US companies are opting for short-term debt in anticipation that rates have peaked and the oil prices continue to trend higher.

Let's dive in.

S&P 500 SESSION CHART

S&P 500 falls back into negative territory (Source: TradingView)

MARKETS

• S&P 500 and Nasdaq give back early strength but finished off worst levels

• WTI crude settled 1.7% higher at US$88.7, up from US$81.5 at the start of the month

• Index performance dragged down by Apple (-1.7%) after its iPhone 15 reveal

• BofA’s latest Global Fund Manager Survey says investor sentiment is no longer extremely bearish, with global equity allocations at a 17-month high but not yet bullish as cash levels remain elevated at 4.9% 

• US companies opt for short-term debt in bet that yields have peaked (FT)

• US economy's outperformance underpinning dollar's resilience but Fed test looms (Reuters)

• Fund mangers snap up Japan banks on BoJ tightening bets (Bloomberg)

• China attracts record ETF flows even as US and Europeans pull out (FT)

STOCKS

• Apple iPhone 15 debut includes higher price on top model (Bloomberg)

• Oracle slides most since 2002 on slowing cloud sales growth (Bloomberg)

• Arm's IPO orders are already oversubscribed by 10 times (Bloomberg)

• Alibaba's new CEO elevates AI to top priority in revamp (Bloomberg)

• Huawei raises Mate 60 smartphone by 20% (Reuters)

CENTRAL BANKS

• Central banks set for higher for longer to fight inflation, ECB and BOE may deliver another hike then switch to pause (Bloomberg)

• Chief economists at US banks say the Fed is done with tightening, see the US dodging recession and ~1% of rate cuts next year (Bloomberg)

CHINA

• China's housing rebound fades fast in big cities after stimulus (Bloomberg)

• China economy seen growing less than forecast this year and next amid struggling property market (Reuters)

• Country Garden secures creditor approval to extend repayment (Reuters)

• China to overtake Japan as world's biggest car exporter (FT)

ECONOMY

• German investor morale unexpected improved in September (Reuters)

• UK wage growth points to another hike but jobless rate rises (Reuters)

• Australian consumer confidence falls into deeply pessimistic territory, but business conditions brighten (Bloomberg)

The Apple Unveil

Here are the latest product updates and notable features from last night's Apple conference:

• USB-C: Mac, iPhone and iPad to have a single charging cable

• Apple Watch Series 9: US$399 with brighter display, 18-hr battery life

• iPhone 15 & 15 Plus: US$799 and US$899 with larger battery, dynamic island, upgrades to night mode and live photos

Is the hype around new Apple product launches dead? Well it has been for a while.

Source: Bespoke Investment Group

So what happens to the Index if a US$2.7 trillion giant begins to ease?

The Energy Trade Kicks On

Oil prices continued to trend higher overnight to a near 10-month high on OPEC optimism over the resilience of energy demand in major economies.

Brent crude prices have risen in 10 of the last 11 sessions, venturing deeper into overbought territory. This strength has pushed the SPDR Energy Select Sector to levels not seen since May and November 2022.

If it breaks through, it'll be a fresh 9-year high.

SPDR S&P Energy weekly chart (Source: TradingView)

Newcastle coal futures also demonstrated some strength overnight, up 1.6% to US$162.50 a tonne.

Does this spell more strength for the local energy sector, for names like Woodside (ASX: WDS) and Whitehaven Coal (ASX: WHC).

ASX corporate actions occurring today:

• Trading ex-div: Medibank (MPL) – $0.08, Breville Group (BRG) – $0.155, Accent Group (AX1) – $0.055, Dusk Group (DSK) – $0.03, IGO (IGO) – $0.60, Brambles (BXB) – $0.21

  • See full list of ASX stocks and ETFs trading ex-dividend here

• Listing: None 

Economic calendar (AEST):

• 5:00 pm: UK GDP

• 11:30 pm: US Inflation