Morning Wrap: ASX to rise, Dow surges 1100 pts, S&P 500 best day since May on war end hopes

ASX 200 futures are up 130 pts (+1.52%) as of 8:30 am AEDT.

In a nutshell:

• Strap in for a strong relief rally amid rising hopes for an end to the Iran war

• Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian open to ending the war with guarantees

• Dow and S&P up more than 2% each, Nasdaq up almost 4%

• OpenAI closes record-breaking $122 billion funding round as anticipation builds for IPO

• WTI crude was only down slightly, while gold rallied more than 3%

Let's dive in.

Overnight Summary

Wed 01 Apr 26, 8:22am (AEST)

Name	Value	% Chg
Major Indices
S&P 500	6,529	+2.91%
Dow Jones	46,342	+2.49%
NASDAQ Comp	21,591	+3.83%
Russell 2000	2,496	+3.41%
Country Indices
Canada	32,768	+2.61%
China	3,892	-0.80%
Germany	22,680	+0.52%
Hong Kong	24,788	+0.15%
India	71,948	-2.22%
Japan	51,064	-1.58%
United Kingdom	10,176	+0.48%

Name	Value	% Chg
Commodities (USD)
Gold	4,667.98	+3.38%
Copper	5.63	+2.77%
WTI Oil	101.56	-1.28%
Currency
AUD/USD	0.6898	-0.03%
Cryptocurrency
Bitcoin (USD)	68,050	+2.22%
Ethereum (AUD)	3,047	+3.99%
Miscellaneous
US 10 Yr T-bond	4.311	-0.71%
VIX	25.25	-17.51%

S&P 500 SESSION CHART

S&P 500 rallied through the middle part of the session and closed near the session high

OVERNIGHT MARKETS

• Major US benchmarks all significantly higher overnight.

• Dow up more than 1120 points higher, with 25 of its 30 components in the green.

• Communication services and information technology sectors rising more than 4% each.

• Trump said that he does not expect the war to last “too much longer” and he’s ready to leave the fate of the Strait of Hormuz to other nations.

• Media in Iran quoted that nation’s president, Masoud Pezeshkian that Iran is seeking “an end” to the war.

• Last night's rally followed the worst quarter for US stocks in nearly four years (link)

• Global government bonds suffer biggest monthly fall in years on Iran war (Reuters)

ENERGY

• Iran strikes Kuwaiti oil tanker stationed in Dubai (Bloomberg)

• US gasoline prices surge above $4 per gallon for first time in over three years (CNBC)

• Two Chinese container ships successfully cross Strait of Hormuz (Reuters)

• Massive US LNG plant run by QatarEnergy and ExxonMobil begins production, first shipment expected in Q2 (FT)

• China set to resume imports of US energy as it looks to diversify supply (Nikkei)

• Shipping analysts question Trump's claim Iran allowed 20 Pakistan-flagged ships to transit through Strait of Hormuz (FT)

• EU urges oil and gas demand cuts in transport amid Iran war energy crisis (Politico)

IRAN

• Trump said that he does not expect the war to last “too much longer” and he’s ready to leave the fate of the Strait of Hormuz to other nations.

• Media in Iran quoted that nation’s president, Masoud Pezeshkian that Iran is seeking “an end” to the war.

• Iranian leadership fractured, leaving negotiators in dark about what government is willing to concede in talks (NY Times)

• Gulf allies urge Trump to intensify war on Iran until leadership changes (AP)

• US strikes large Iranian ammunition depot in Isfahan with bunker buster bombs (Telegraph)

• Thousands of US 82nd Airborne troops arrive in Middle East amid Iran war (Reuters)

STOCKS

• Nike slips after hours as results gross margin pressure and soft China sales (down 7% yoy)

• Unilever in advanced talks to combine food business with McCormick (Reuters). Unilever implementing global hiring freeze at all levels lasting at least three months, citing widening Middle East conflict (Reuters)

• Netflix interested in expanding its NFL game package from two to four games (link)

• GM set to boost heavy-duty truck production due to stronger demand (link)

• Apollo nears $10B deal to acquire Atlantic Aviation from KKR (Bloomberg)

CENTRAL BANKS

• New York Fed's Williams says rates well positioned despite Middle East war (Bloomberg)

• ECB's Muller says interest rates likely to rise due to Iran war inflation effects (Bloomberg)

• RBA board uncertain about future path of cash rate amid Middle East uncertainties (Reuters)

ECONOMY

• China manufacturing and non-manufacturing activity turn positive, input costs accelerate (CNBC)

• Britain's economy grew by 0.1% in Q4, ONS figures show (Reuters)

• German economic institutes slash 2026 growth forecast to 0.6% on Iran war (Reuters)

• Tokyo inflation eases further below 2% target due to energy subsidies, Middle East poses upside risk (Reuters)

• South Korea industrial production growth hits five-year high, semiconductor output up sharply (Yonhap)

WHAT TO WATCH TODAY

• What to watch today is the market going up, a welcome relief after the ASX 200 was smacked almost 8% last month. Everything should catch a bid, so sit back and enjoy the green ink spilling across your trading screen - it's been a while.

BROKER MOVES

• Nine Entertainment Co. Holdings (NEC) reinstated to outperform from neutral; target $1.15 (Macquarie)

• PEXA Group (PXA) downgraded to neutral from buy; target lowered to $15.70 from $17.50 (UBS)

• Santana Minerals (SMI) initiated to outperform; target NZ$1.35 (Forsyth Barr)

Stocks trading ex-dividend: 

• Wed 1 Apr: ARB Corporation (ARB) – $0.34, Harvey Norman Holdings (HVN) – $0.145, Lindsay Australia (LAU) – $0.021, Ridley Corporation (RIC) – $0.051

• Thu 2 Apr: None

• Tue 7 Apr: Shine Justice (SHJ) – $0.015, Southern Cross Electrical Engineering (SXE) – $0.025

• Wed 8 Apr: Clime Capital (CAM) – $0.014, Rivco Australia (RIV) – $0.037

• Thu 9 Apr: Bisalloy Steel Group (BIS) – $0.08, Horizon Oil (HZN) – $0.015

Other ASX corporate actions today:       

• Dividends paid: Freightways Group (FRW), Generation Development Group (GDG), Mercury NZ (MCY), Reece (REH), Seek (SEK), Servcorp (SRV)

• Earnings: None

• IPOs: None

Economic calendar (AEDT):

• 9:00 am: Australia Ai Group Industry Index

• 11:30 pm: US Retail Sales

• 1:00 am: US ISM Manufacturing PMI