ASX to test record highs as risk rally resumes

IG MARKETS SPONSORED POST

ASX futures rose 32 points, or 0.5 per cent, to 6873 earlier this morning. 

• Australian dollar +0.1% to 69.09 US cents
• On Wall St near 2.30pm: Dow +0.3% S&P 500 +0.7% Nasdaq +1%
• In New York: BHP +0.5% Rio +1.5% Atlassian +1.7% Tesla +8%
• In Europe: Stoxx 50 -0.3% FTSE +0.4% CAC flat DAX -0.2%
• Nikkei 225 futures -0.6% Hang Seng +0.7%
• Spot gold -0.8% to $US1549.66/oz at 12.53pm New York
• Brent crude -0.9% to $US64.39 a barrel
• US oil -1.1% to $US58.40 a barrel
• Iron ore +2.1% to $US95.93 a tonne
• Dalian iron ore +0.8% to 663 yuan
• LME aluminium -0.4% to $US1798 a tonne
• LME copper +1.5% to $US6290 a tonne
• 2-year yield: US 1.58% Australia 0.80%
• 5-year yield: US 1.64% Australia 0.84%
• 10-year yield: US 1.84% Australia 1.21% Germany -0.16%
• 10-year US/Australia yield gap near 5am AEDT: 63 basis points

IG MARKETS SPONSORED POST

Wall Street stocks shrugged off a mixed lead from their Asian and European counterparts overnight to once again challenge fresh all-time highs. It was a high activity day in US markets, especially for a Monday, with investors clearly keen to go for growth. Tech shares were strong performers. The Nasdaq rose more than 1 per cent higher, aided by a rally in Tesla shares which touched the $US500 mark for the first time in the carmaker’s history.

Market attention swings to US corporate fundamentals now. Earnings season kicks off in earnest with some financial giants like Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, and Citigroup topping the billing. It’s forecast to be another lacklustre results season. Earnings growth is expected to contract by around 2 per cent. As always, traders will be focusing on companies’ outlooks for signs of a turnaround in profit growth in the year ahead.

Wall Street’s lead is setting up the ASX 200 for a positive start this morning. SPI Futures are suggesting the benchmark index ought to open roughly 32 points higher. It comes on the heels of a negative day for local stocks yesterday which might well be chalked up to some profit taking after Friday’s rally. Crucially, the market closed above the psychological level of 6900 on Monday, pointing to bullish sentiment amongst traders.