Morning Wrap: ASX futures point up, S&P 500 posts losing streak, gold advances, Emeco in focus

ASX 200 futures are up 7 points (0.08%) to 8,810

In a nutshell:

• The S&P 500 fell for a third straight session, its longest losing streak in a month.

• Bullion and gold miners advanced, with US & Canadian gold producer ETFs up ~1% overnight, flagging potential upside for ASX-listed gold stocks.

• Mining services group Emeco Holdings may be in focus today after reports of a potential takeover bid from North American Construction Group.

• Note: The Live Blog is not running today. It'll be back on Monday

Let's dive in.

S&P 500 SESSION CHART

(Source: TradingView)

OVERNIGHT MARKETS

• US equities finished lower in Thursday trading, though ended off worst levels.

• S&P and Nasdaq now down three consecutive sessions.

• Big tech was mostly lower with TSLA the notable decliner; AAPL provided some cushion.

• Treasuries were weaker with the curve flattening; yields were up ~5-6bp at the short end.

• Gold finished up 0.1%.

• Bitcoin futures were down 3.5%, but came off worst levels.

• WTI crude was little changed at settlement.

STOCKS

• Trump to sign order today for Oracle, Silver Lake, and MGX to control ~45% of TikTok (CNBC)

• Amazon reaches $2.5 billion settlement with FTC over 'deceptive' Prime program (CNBC)

• CoreWeave strikes $6.5 billion deal with OpenAI to power next-gen AI models (Yahoo Finance)

• Robert Bosch to cut about 13,000 additional jobs at its auto-parts business by 2030 (Bloomberg)

• Oklo shares under pressure amid significant insider selling and cautious Goldman Sachs initiation (CNBC)

TARIFFS

• US formally drops tariffs on EU cars to 15% (euronews)

• Trump initiates Section 232 investigations into medical devices and equipment, robotics and industrial machinery (Yahoo Finance)

• China launches trade barrier investigation into Mexico after Mexico imposed tariffs on Chinese products (Bloomberg)

CENTRAL BANKS

• Dallas Fed's Logan argues it's time to retire and move beyond the fed funds rate as a policy tool (Bloomberg)

• Former Fed chairs urge Supreme Court to keep Cook on board, preserve Fed independence (AP)

ECONOMY

• US home sales remained sluggish in August despite late-summer mortgage rate slide (AP)

• Cox Automotive raises 2025 new vehicle U.S. sales forecast due to stronger-than-expected demand so far this year (CNBC)

• Trump indicated farmers could soon get a bailout funded by tariffs (Axios)

ASX TODAY

• It’s another quiet morning for news and corporate updates. With no fresh catalysts pointing to downside risk, bargain hunters may step back into the ASX

• Note: The Live Blog is not running today. It'll be back on Monday

WHAT TO WATCH TODAY

• The Australian reports that American Equipment Holdings is among the parties said to be circling mining equipment rental group Emeco Holdings (ASX:EHL).

• It could be worth watching mining services stocks more broadly for a potential sentiment shift.

BROKER MOVES

• Kingsgate Consolidated initiated buy at Moelis Australia; target up to $4.80 from $3.43

Stocks trading ex-dividend: 

• Fri 26 Sep: SRG Global (SRG) – $0.03, Veris (VRS) – $0.002

• Mon 29 Sep: Energy One (EOL) – $0.075, FOS Capital (FOS) – $0.01, Garda Property Group (GDF) – $0.02, Gold Road Resources (GOR) – $0.437, Gryphon Capital Income Trust (GCI) – $0.012, Lindsay Australia (LAU) – $0.015, Rural Funds (RFF) – $0.029, Shine Justice (SHJ) – $0.035, Sims (SGM) – $0.13

• Tue 30 Sep: Genusplus Group (GNP) – $0.036, Staude Capital Global Value Fund (GVF) – $0.033, Tasmea (TEA) – $0.06

• Wed 1 Oct: Cedar Woods Properties (CWP) – $0.19, Nick Scali (NCK) – $0.33

• Thu 2 Oct: ARB Corporation (ARB) – $0.35, Cosol (COS) – $0.012, Imperial Pacific (IPC) – $0.07, London City Equities (LCE) – $0.025, Wam Strategic Value (WAR) – $0.03

• Fri 3 Oct: Steamships Trading Company (SST) – $0.128

Other ASX corporate actions today: 

• Dividends paid: AMP (AMP), Atlas Pearls (ATP), Comms Group (CCG), Credit Corp Group (CCP), EarlyPay (EPY), Experience Co (EXP), Fortescue (FMG), GQG Partners (GQG), Euroz Hartleys Group (EZL), LaserBond (LBL), McMillan Shakespeare (MMS), Navigator Global Investments (NGI), Nine Entertainment (NEC), PWR Holdings (PWH), Steadfast Group (SDF), Woolworths Group (WOW), XRF Scientific (XRF)

• Earnings: Black Cat Syndicate (BC8), Deep Yellow (DYL), Meeka Metals (MEK)

• IPOs: None

• AGMs: None

Economic calendar (AEST):

• 10:30 pm: US Core PCE Price Index (Aug)