Morning Wrap: ASX 200 to rise, S&P 500 and Nasdaq at record highs, Uranium stocks set to surge

ASX 200 futures are up 41pts (+0.46%) as of 8:30 am AEST.

In a nutshell:

• S&P 500 and Nasdaq continued to climb into record territory, with Alphabet crossing the $3 trillion market cap level for the first time on record

• Elon Musk scooped up $1 billion worth of Tesla stock, marking his first open-market purchase since February 2020

• Uranium stocks surged overnight, while copper, aluminium and gold prices also trending higher

Let's dive in.

S&P 500 SESSION CHART

Small gap up into sideways action (Source: TradingView)

OVERNIGHT MARKETS

• Major US benchmarks broadly higher, in a relatively rangebound session

• S&P 500 and Nasdaq both closed at record highs

• Market path of least resistance remains higher on the back of heightened Fed easing expectations, renewed bullish sentiment surrounding AI trade and positive earnings revisions 

• Alphabet hits market cap of $3 trillion for the first time on AI optimism and regulatory clarity (RT)

• Tesla shares soar as Musk reveals rare $1bn buy, his largest insider acquisition ever by value (CNBC)

• Copper jumps to 15-month high amid growing rate cut optimism (BBG)

• Wall Street bets on tax cuts and rate cuts to boost stocks, trade and tariffs concerns hit the backburner (BBG)

• Chinese chip stocks surge as US semiconductors face anti-dumping investigation, boosting domestic hopes (BBG)

• Chinese bond selloff fuels speculation of central bank intervention, debt purchases restart considered (BBG)

• Trump says public companies should not have to report quarterly reports, calls for six-month schedule (AX)

STOCKS

• CoreWeave and Nvidia announce $6.3 billion cloud computing capacity order (RT)

• Ford moving global headquarters for the first time in 70 years to new campus nearby (AP)

• Alaska Air says earnings to come in at low end of guidance but demand resilient (WSJ)

TARIFFS

• Bessent saying sides close on a TikTok deal, also said China came into negotiations with an unspecified "aggressive ask" (BBG)

• China says Nvidia violated anti-monopoly laws, escalating US trade tension (BBG)

• Trump likely to grant another extension to ByteDance for TikTok US asset sale (AX)

• China opposes US call for G7, NATO secondary tariffs on Russian oil, vows to protect interests (RT)

• Chinese export restrictions trigger germanium supply crunch, prices soar for crucial defense metal (FT)

• Trump tariffs target India, calls economy 'dead', but negotiations continue, US-India relations thaw (WSJ)

CENTRAL BANKS

• Fed set for first rate cut amid Trump pressure, internal divisions on inflation (BBG)

• Trump predicts "big cut" from Fed amid pressure for lower rates, economic concerns (BBG)

ECONOMY

• China's factory output growth slows, retail sales slump (BBG)

• China's housing slump continues, new home prices fall amid weak demand, Premier Li urges action (RT)

• Fitch downgrades France's credit rating to A+, citing rising debt and political instability (BBG)

ASX TODAY

• Lendlease suitors asked to submit another round of bids on 2-Oct for 25% stake in Keyton (AFR)

• Paladin Energy readies $300m capital raise to replenish working capital (AFR)

• New Hope reports FY25 NPAT of $439.4m vs. $426.8m ests (2.9% beat), final dividend of 15 cps (NHC)

• Newmont to sell Coffee Project in Canada to Fuerte Metals for up to $150m in cash and equity (NEM)

• Sayona Mining announces scoping study outcomes for expansion of existing North American operations, provides total NPV of C$1.28bn (SYA)

• Super Retail Group CEO Anthony Heraghty terminated with immediate effect due to his relationship with the company's former Chief Human Resources Officer (SUL)

WHAT TO WATCH TODAY

• Uranium: Massive overnight session for uranium, with Global X Uranium ETF (URA) up 9.3% to the highest level since September 2012. Largest uranium miner Cameco rallied 10.5%, other US and Canada names like Denison Mines, Uranium Energy Corp etc. up 8-15%. Catalysts include i) US and UK government plans to fast track progress for modular reactors; ii) several new private sector investment deals in the sector and iii) US energy secretary Chris Wright said the US is looking to boost its uranium stockpiles. Local heavyweights like Paladin and Boss have really struggled/underperformed on operational headwinds, but still a very strong lead in for the sector.

• Resources: The sector performed incredibly well overnight, with lithium stocks rallying, copper prices hitting 15-month highs, gold prices up almost 1% and close to US$3,700, aluminium inching higher towards 16-month high etc.

BROKER MOVES

• Gemlife Communities Group initiated with $5.30 target (JPM)

Stocks trading ex-dividend: 

• Tue 16 Sep: Duratec (DUR) – $0.025, Qantas (QAN) – $0.264

• Wed 17 Sep: Auckland International Airport (AIA) – $0.063, Count (CUP) – $0.028, Flight Centre (FLT) – $0.29, Inghams Group (ING) – $0.08, Maas Group (MGH) – $0.035, Supply Network (SNL) – $0.38, Service Stream (SSM) – $0.03

• Thu 18 Sep: a2 Milk Company (A2M) – $0.089, Centrepoint Alliance (CAF) – $0.018, Cochlear (COH) – $2.15, Embelton (EMB) – $0.20, Lycopodium (LYL) – $0.25, Macmahon Holdings (MAH) – $0.01, Mader Group (MAD) – $0.048, NRW Holdings (NWH) – $0.095, PWR Holdings (PWH) – $0.02, SKS Technologies (SKS) – $0.05, South32 (S32) – $0.04, Tourism Holdings Rentals (THL) – $0.036

• Fri 19 Sep: Latitude Group (LFS) – $0.04, Vita Life Sciences (VLS) – $0.045

Other ASX corporate actions today: 

• Dividends paid: Amotiv (AOV), Dalrymple Bay Infrastructure (DBI), Eureka Group Holdings (EGH), Helia Group Ltd (HLI), Helloworld Travel Ltd (HLO), Jumbo Interactive (JIN), MyState (MYS), Nido Education (NDO), Objective Corp (OCL), Vicinity Centres (VCX), and Whitehaven Coal (WHC)

• Earnings: New Hope (NHC)

• IPOs: None

• AGMs: Contact Energy (CEN)

Economic calendar (AEST):

• 4:00 pm: UK Unemployment (Jul)

• 10:30 pm: Canada Inflation (Aug)

• 10:30 pm: US Retail Sales (Aug)