ASX 200 futures are trading 14 points higher, up 0.12%, as of 8:30 am AEDT.
The ASX 200 is set to open higher for a fourth straight session after the US dollar index took a breather from a recent two year high as well as continued strength for megacap tech stocks, German inflation re-accelerated amid less favourable base effects and higher services prices, lithium stocks tick higher overnight on several positive catalysts and more macro news to come on Tuesday.
Let's dive in.
Tue 07 Jan 25, 8:28am (AEDT)
Tue 07 Jan 25, 8:29am (AEDT)
Major US benchmarks finished mixed and well-below session highs
Breadth and participation continue to be weak, masked by the outperformance of Magnificent 7 stocks
Tech stocks outperformed, led by Meta (+4.2%), Nvidia (+3.4%), Alphabet (+2.5%) and Amazon (+1.5%)
Magnificent 7 (plus Broadcom) have seen their earnings revised up an average 5.1% over the past 90 days ,according to DataTrek
Equal-weight S&P 500 finished 0.06% lower, underperforming the official benchmark by 61 bps
Bitcoin reclaims the US$100,000 level for the first time since 19 December
US dollar index moved lower, coming off its recent two-year high after a report that Trump’s tariffs could be less broad than initially thought (WP)
US natural gas prices soared 10% as winter storms hit output, freezing oil and gas wells (RT)
Trudeau resignation opens door for Trump ‘going easy on trade tariffs’ with Canada (YH)
German inflation jumped to a higher-than-expected 2.9% in December vs. 2.6% consensus, likely driven by higher prices for CO2 emissions and insurance services (RT)
Tue 07 Jan 25, 8:27am (AEDT)
ASX 200 set to open higher for a fourth straight session
ASX 200 finished 0.08% higher on Monday, down from session highs of 0.51% – So a little bit of fading action as it attempts to reclaim the 50-day
Tech stocks performed well on Monday, led by Xero (+1.6%), Life360 (+1.3%) and Wisetech (+1.3%). The tech-led overnight session may continue to present positive flows for the sector
Lithium: VanEck Rare Earths and Strategic Metals ETF up 2.9% overnight, trading at the highest level since 16 December 2024. The move likely reflected a combination of higher Chinese lithium futures (up 1.5% on Monday to 776,600 yuan a tonne), weaker US dollar, better-than-expected EV deliveries from Lucid and positive earnings revisions for Tesla (Q4 earnings estimates up 16.9% over the past 90 days). This could help names like Pilbara Minerals stabilise from recent lows
Materials: Weaker US dollar helped several commodities and related ETFs tick higher overnight. The Materials sector (XMJ) tumbled another 1.3% on Monday to close at its lowest level since September 2024.
Amcor PLC upgraded to Buy from Neutral; target price up to $19 from $17 (Citi)
Car Group reiterated Buy; target price up to $42.40 from $39.50 (Citi)
Stocks trading ex-dividend:
Tue 7 Jan: None
Wed 8 Jan: Katana Capital (KAT) – 0.40%
Thu 9 Jan: Turners Automotive Group (TRA) – 1.36%
Fri 10 Jan: None
Other ASX corporate actions today:
Dividends paid: None
Listing: None
Earnings: None
AGMs: None
Economic calendar (AEDT):
10:30 am: Australia Building Permits (Nov)
8:00 pm: Eurozone Inflation Rate (Dec)
8:00 pm: Eurozone Unemployment Rate (Nov)
11:30 pm: Canada Balance of Trade (Nov)
1:00 am: US ISM Services PMI (Dec)
1:00 am: US JOLTs Job Openings (Nov)
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