Morning Wrap: ASX 200 to rally, S&P 500 at all-time highs + Copper, nickel and silver stocks set to extend gains
ASX 200 futures are up 51pts (+0.58%) as of 8:30 am AEDT.
ASX 200 futures are up 51pts (+0.58%) as of 8:30 am AEDT.
Hi there – Morning wraps, the blog and Evening wraps are back! I hope you all had a wonderful break and ready to take on whatever the market has to throw at us in 2026. We're only a week into the new year and major US benchmarks are already marking fresh all-time highs, while the commodity complex continues its vertical ascent. Late last year, we noticed plenty of resource-related sectors, indices and stocks breaking out of multi-year bases. This is probably the sector to watch for 2026.
On a side note, we're experiencing some issues with the usual tables (Overnight Summary, US Sectors and ETFs). We will look to have them up and running tomorrow.
Let's dive in.
S&P 500 SESSION CHART
S&P 500 gapped up, trended higher to close at best levels (Source: TradingView)
OVERNIGHT MARKETS
Major US benchmarks higher and closed near best levels, with the Dow and S&P 500 logging fresh all-time highs
Major US benchmarks: Russell 2000 (+1.37%), Dow (+0.99%), Nasdaq (+0.65%) and S&P 500 (+0.62%)
The V-shape commodity rally continues, with copper trading at fresh all-time highs and above US$6.0/lb, nickel up more than 6% to highest since Jun-24, silver up ~6% to record US$81/oz and more
Overall markets in a good place, with commodities rallying on momentum/fiscal/geopolitical drivers, broadening market rally (at the slight expense of tech) and pro-cyclical rotation
Markets shrug off Trump's Venezuela incursion with global stocks hitting new highs Monday (BBG)
Citadel sees US stocks running in January driven by early-year capital inflows (BBG)
Saudi Arabia to open its financial markets to all foreign investors next month (RT)
Nickel prices surge by just over 9% in London, notching the biggest gain in more than three years amid China demand (BBG)
Distressed Venezuelan assets poised for big gains after Maduro's ouster (FT)
Chinese stocks hit multi‑year highs on AI optimism and signs of economic recovery (BBG)
STOCKS
Nvidia's Huang says next-gen chips in full production, offering fivefold AI performance gains for applications (RT)
Nvidia says it has seen strong China demand for H200 chip amid potential US export approval (BBG)
Nvidia CFO says bullish forecast given in October has gotten brighter due to strong demand (BBG)
Sandisk shares surge after Nvidia's Huang highlighted need for memory, storage (BBG)
Ford sales jumped 6% last year, powered by hybrids and cheaper entry-level vehicles (YF)
Meta delaying European rollout of Ray-Ban Display smart glasses due to high demand in the US (WSJ)
Accenture agrees to buy AI company Faculty for more than $1bn (FT)
Qualcomm unveils new and cheaper version of its X2 laptop processor (BBG)
Intel unveils laptops using redesigned processors, aiming to regain competitiveness in PC market (BBG)
AI-driven data centers add $6.5bn to power procurement costs, worsening energy inflation concerns (BBG)
Fairfax Financial discloses 22% stake in Under Armour (BBG)
Eli Lilly cuts Mounjaro price in China, heightening competition with Novo Nordisk and locals (BBG)
TARIFFS
Supreme Court ruling on Trump tariffs could come as soon as Friday (BBG)
China buys more US soybeans as total purchases near 10 million tons (YF)
CENTRAL BANKS
Fed Miran says 100 bp of cuts needed in 2026, argues restrictive policy is restraining the economy (BBG)
Fed's Barkin says policy near neutral, but both sides of Fed's mandate should be watched carefully (BBG)
BOJ's Ueda says rate hikes to continue with improving economy but sensitivity to hawkish signals intensifies (BBG)
GEOPOLITICS
Trump says may send more troops to Venezuela if interim president resists, insists US not at war (AX)
US oil companies won't rush to re-enter Venezuela amid significant uncertainties (CBS)
Trump proposes US-subsidised rebuild of Venezuela's oil, promising quick restart and reimbursement (BBG)
China restricts military-use exports to Japan amid tensions over Japanese PM Takaichi's Taiwan remarks (BBG)
ECONOMY
Eurozone slows in December but posts strongest quarterly growth in over two years (RT)
UK services PMI revised lower to 51.4 in December, signaling near‑stagnation (RT)
French inflation eased slightly in December as energy costs fell (BBG)
ASX TODAY
Bellevue Gold reports 2Q26 gold production of 37koz, reaffirms FY26 production guidance of 130-150koz (BGL)
Capricorn Metals reports 2Q26 KGP gold production of 30,476oz, YTD KPG production of 62,794koz, says its on track to achieve upper end of FY26 guidance of 115-125koz at AISC of A$1,530-1,630/oz (CMM)
Regis Resources reports preliminary 2Q26 production of 96.6koz, reaffirms FY26 production of 350-380koz (RRL)
West African Resources reports 2025 gold production of 300,383 oz vs. guidance of 290-360 oz (WAF)
WHAT TO WATCH TODAY
Uranium: URA ETF up ~15% in the last three sessions, still ~15% away from its mid-Oct high after a rather volatile past few weeks. More positive newsflow on Tuesday, with DoE awarding US$2.7bn in funding to nuclear fuel producers.
Nickel: Massive overnight move for nickel prices and Sprott's Nickel Miners ETF surged 6.4% to the highest since inception (Mar-23). A local name like Nickel Industries has run quite aggressively in recent weeks, up ~25% since 19-Dec-25. Might take a closer look at what the current nickel price move means for NIC earnings this week.
More commodities: Chinese lithium carbonate futures hit limit up on Tuesday (up ~9% to 137,940 yuan a tonne), which explains why names like PLS rallied 9.5%. Gold and silver ETFs up massively overnight (up 4.1% and 4.0% respectively). Copper ETF (COPX) feeling a little lethargic, up 1.8% to fresh all-time highs, but plenty of spec names (AR1, CYM, CLA, HGO, HCH are rallying quite aggressively).
BROKER MOVES
Broker data currently pending, check out tonight's Evening Wrap for a full breakdown.
Key Events
Stocks trading ex-dividend:
Wed 7 Jan: None
Thu 8 Jan: Clime Capital (CAM) – $0.014, Katana Capital (KAT) – $0.005
Fri 9 Jan: Turners Automotive Group (TRA) – $0.07
Other ASX corporate actions today:
Dividends paid: None
Earnings: None
IPOs: None
AGMs: None
Economic calendar (AEDT):
