Morning Wrap: No reprieve in sight for ASX after US markets end lower again overnight
ASX 200 futures are down 75pts (-0.96%) as of 8:30 am AEDT.
In this article
ASX 200 futures are down 75pts (-0.96%) as of 8:30 am AEDT.
In a nutshell:
US markets endure choppy session as investors grapple with Trump tariffs
ASX set to slide again, with SPI futures pointing to a weaker start
Commodities generally stronger; gold, base matelas and oil higher
Let's dive in.
Overnight Summary
Name | Value | % Chg |
|---|---|---|
Major Indices | ||
 S&P 500 | 5,572 | -0.76% |
Dow Jones | 41,433 | -1.14% |
NASDAQ Comp | 17,436 | -0.18% |
Russell 2000 | 2,024 | +0.22% |
Country Indices | ||
 Canada | 24,248 | -0.54% |
 China | 3,380 | +0.41% |
 Germany | 22,329 | -1.29% |
 Hong Kong | 23,782 | -0.01% |
 India | 74,102 | -0.02% |
 Japan | 36,793 | -0.64% |
 United Kingdom | 8,496 | -1.21% |
Name | Value | % Chg |
|---|---|---|
Commodities (USD) | ||
 Gold | 2,922.2 | +1.01% |
 Iron Ore | 101.05 | +0.06% |
 Copper | 4.793 | +3.21% |
 WTI Oil | 66.59 | +1.05% |
Currency | ||
 AUD/USD | 0.6298 | +0.33% |
Cryptocurrency | ||
 Bitcoin (USD) | 82,910 | +4.71% |
 Ethereum (AUD) | 3,079 | +3.84% |
Miscellaneous | ||
US 10 Yr T-bond | 4.288 | +1.78% |
VIX | 26.92 | -3.37% |
US Sectors
Sector | % Chg |
|---|---|
| Consumer Discretionary | -0.26% |
| Information Technology | -0.38% |
| Communication Services | -0.71% |
| Materials | -0.81% |
| Financials | -0.86% |
| Utilities | -0.91% |
Sector | % Chg |
|---|---|
| Energy | -0.96% |
| Real Estate | -1.03% |
| Health Care | -1.12% |
| Consumer Staples | -1.18% |
| Industrials | -1.54% |
S&P 500 SESSION CHART
S&P 500 attempted a bounce but failed in a choppy (Source: TradingView)
OVERNIGHT MARKETS
Major US benchmarks were mostly lower in choppy trade, with stocks ending off worst levels but unable to sustain bounce attempt
Markets rattled by economic slowdown fears, fueled by tariffs, spending cuts (FT)
Wall Street starting to fear that Trump will wreck soft landing for the US economy (WSJ)
Speculative corners of the market routed as investors flee to high quality assets (Bloomberg)
Goldman Sachs says hedge funds unwinding risk as in early days of Covid pandemic (Reuters)
Citi downgrades US stocks on exceptionalism doubts, upgrades China (Bloomberg)
PBOC dials back yuan support amid doubts over US exceptionalism (Bloomberg)
STOCKS
Delta Airlines earnings downgrade heightens concerns about travel demand (Bloomberg)
Oracle misses, but AI momentum building (Reuters)
Tesla has worst day in four years amid a growing backlash over Elon Musk's political allegiances (Bloomberg)
OpenAI strikes $12B deal with CoreWeave, signing a five-year contract ahead of its hotly anticipated stock market launch (FT)
Nvidia's challengers seizing new opportunity to crack its dominance of AI chips after DeepSeek's industry shake up (FT)
Apple preparing major software overhaul that will fundamentally change OS appearance (Bloomberg)
Elon Musk blames X outage on massive cyberattack (FT)
DeepSeek owner does not want new shareholders for the moment (WSJ)
Volkswagen projects flat profitability in 2025 amid trade tensions and muted demand (Bloomberg)
CENTRAL BANKS
ECB's Schnabel warns of persistent inflation risks, signaling potential rate cut pause (Bloomberg)
GEOPOLITICS & TRADE
US and Ukraine agree to ceasefire deal, pending Russian approval
Trump announces additional 25% tariffs on Canadian steel, aluminum
Trump admin in talks with China about setting up Trump-Xi summit in June; talks currently stuck at lower levels (Bloomberg)
Rubio says US may resume aid if Ukraine commits to peace, Kiev must cede territory for peace
Trump's Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff planning to meet Putin in Moscow later this week following US-Ukraine summit (Axios)
ECONOMY
Trump to meet CEOs on Thursday amid growing business alarm over tariffs, economic slowdown (Bloomberg)
NEC Director Kevin Hassett downplays US recession concerns (Reuters)
Tariff panic across Wall Street puts pressure on Trump to push sweeping tax cut bill (Bloomberg)
US economy downgraded by Goldman Sachs on negative tariff impact (CNBC)
Builders stockpile lumber and swap out materials to work around tariffs but face high storage costs (link)
China's consumption boost plan of $41B just a start as deflationary pressures deepen (CNBC)
Japan Q4 GDP revised down amid household consumption weakness (Bloomberg)
UK consumer spending slows in February despite rising confidence (Reuters, Bloomberg)
Australian consumer confidence rises following rate cut (Reuters), business confidence negative (Reuters)
Industry ETFs
Name | Value | % Chg |
|---|---|---|
Commodities | ||
| Gold Miners | 41.84 | +3.28% |
| Silver | 29.96 | +2.92% |
| Uranium | 23.66 | +2.38% |
| Copper Miners | 39.32 | +1.84% |
| Steel | 61.27 | +1.32% |
| Strategic Metals | 41.1 | +0.78% |
| Lithium & Battery Tech | 39.98 | +0.33% |
Industrials | ||
| Construction | 66.98 | +0.48% |
| Aerospace & Defense | 148.33 | +0.14% |
| Agriculture | 26.64 | +0.04% |
| Global Jets | 21.58 | -1.69% |
Healthcare | ||
| Biotechnology | 133.99 | -1.36% |
Name | Value | % Chg |
|---|---|---|
Cryptocurrency | ||
| Bitcoin | 18.49 | +5.24% |
Renewables | ||
| CleanTech | 6.595 | +3.05% |
| Hydrogen | 18.86 | +1.56% |
| Solar | 32.63 | +0.25% |
Technology | ||
| Cybersecurity | 32.45 | +1.25% |
| Video Games/eSports | 87.21 | +0.84% |
| Robotics & AI | 30.18 | +0.63% |
| Sports Betting/Gaming | 19.12 | +0.58% |
| Cloud Computing | 21.56 | +0.05% |
| Electric Vehicles | 22.3 | +0.04% |
| FinTech | 27.78 | -0.14% |
| E-commerce | 28.13 | -0.64% |
| Semiconductor | 192.12 | -1.18% |
ASX TODAY
Red Hill Minerals reports H1 NPAT A$3.6M vs year-ago (A$1.1M)
Lotus Resources provides updated scoping study results for Letlhakane uranium project
Wildcat Resources reports H1 NPAT (A$6.4M) vs year-ago (A$6.2M)
Rio Tinto is looking to sell up to $US9 billion of bonds to help pay for Arcadium Lithium.
WHAT TO WATCH TODAY
ASX 200 bounced from the lows yesterday, can the bulls follow through to the upside today?
Growth stocks have been hammered amid the selloff - will bargain hunters move in?
BROKER MOVES
Coles upgraded to overweight from equal weight at Morgan Stanley; target up to $21.70 from $18.40
Woolworths target decreased to $33 from $34 at Morgan Stanley
Brickworks upgraded to Overweight from Neutral at Jarden; target down to $25.60 from $29.10.
Brickworks upgraded to outperform from hold at CLSA; target remains $30
Austal downgraded to Hold from Buy at Argonaut Securities; target down to $4.40 from $4.65.
Ramelius Resources downgraded to Hold from Buy at Argonaut Securities; target down to $2.60 from $3.50.
Webjet Group initiated overweight at Wilsons; target $0.97
Key events
Stocks trading ex-dividend:
Wednesday 12 March – Brambles (BXB) – $0.303, Breville Group (BRG) – $0.18, Kip McGrath Education Centres (KME) – $0.005, Motorcycle Holdings (MTO) – $0.08, Perpetual Equity Investment Company (PIC) – $0.04, WCM Global Growth (WQG) – $0.019.
Thursday 13 March – Bapcor (BAP) – $0.08, Bisalloy Steel Group (BIS) – $0.08, Count (CUP) – $0.018, Duratec (DUR) – $0.018, Embelton (EMB) – $0.15, Glennon Small Companies (GC1) – $0.01, Glennon Small Companies (GC1PA) – $0.34, Globe International (GLB) – $0.10, Inghams Group (ING) – $0.11, Joyce Corporation (JYC) – $0.105, Kogan.com (KGN) – $0.07, McMillan Shakespeare (MMS) – $0.71, Perpetual (PPT) – $0.61, Pepper Money (PPM) – $0.071, PM Capital Global Opportunities Fund (PGF) – $0.055, PWR Holdings (PWH) – $0.02, Regis Healthcare (REG) – $0.081, SRG Global (SRG) – $0.025, Summerset Group (SNZ) – $0.101, Thorney Opportunities (TOP) – $0.011, Vulcan Steel (VSL) – $0.02, Yancoal Australia (YAL) – $0.52
Friday 14 March: Ariadne Australia (ARA) – $0.005, CAR Group (CAR) – $0.385, Data#3 (DTL) – $0.131, Plato Income Maximiser (PL8) – $0.006, Wisetech Global (WTC) – $0.105.
Other ASX corporate actions today:
Dividends paid: Lendlease Group (LLC), Magellan Financial Group (MFG), Reff Casino Trust (RCT)
Listing: None
Earnings: None
AGMs: Westgold Resources (18 March)
Economic calendar (AEDT):
US - Core Inflation MoM and YoY, Inflation Rate MoM and YoY - 11:30 PM Cananda - BoC Interest Rate Decision - 12:45 AM
