This week is traditionally a bit of a no-man’s land in trade, but who knows what can happen while the nation sleeps off its Christmas lunch.
It looks as if the Australian stock market will start this week’s trading with a modest rise following the two-day Christmas and Boxing Day hiatus.
While ASX futures indicated a slight dip when last traded on Friday, and the S&P/ASX 200 index was down a mere 2.5 points to 7,501.6, positive cues from New York and strong commodity markets on Tuesday have set the stage for a stronger opening.
The Nasdaq was up 0.7% to 16,892 points, while the Dow Jones added 0.47% to 37,553 points and the S&P 500 moved up 0.5% to 4,780 points.
Aussie dollar continues strong run
The Australian dollar is hovering around US68.25 cents as 2023 nears its end, continuing its ascent from a recent low in October when it dipped to 62.88 US cents.
Since then it has gained a healthy six cents in the last two months against the US dollar and is back to where it was in July.
In the final trading session on Friday, gains in the energy and real estate sectors counterbalanced a decline in consumer staples.
Meanwhile, US markets witnessed an upbeat session on Tuesday, with major indices like the S&P 500 nearing their all-time highs.
In cryptocurrency news, Bitcoin experienced a brief downturn, dipping below $US42,000, before regaining ground.
Retail sales in the US covering the period from November 1 to December 24, saw a 3.1% year-over-year increase, as reported by Mastercard SpendingPulse. Silly season-exposed sectors like restaurants, apparel and groceries experienced notable growth.
What we saw:
- ASX futures down by 3 points to 7,486 as of December 22.
- Australian Dollar appreciates to 68.26 US cents.
- Bitcoin drops by 2.9% to $US42,324.
- On Wall Street: Dow Jones, S&P 500, and Nasdaq report gains.
- European markets remained closed on Tuesday.
- Precious metals and energy commodities like spot gold and Brent crude oil saw an increase.
- Iron ore prices moved up to $US140.25 per tonne.
- Bond yields in the US, Australia, and Germany varied, with the US 10-year yield at 3.89%.
The Australian market's resilience amid global economic cues and festive retail sales figures in the US point towards a cautiously optimistic outlook as the year concludes.
What’s happening in small caps?
Making news this morning, which you can read more about throughout the day with Proactive:
- St George Mining Ltd (ASX:SGQ) has delivered a year-end update on its portfolio of lithium and battery metals projects in WA.
- Jindalee Lithium Ltd (ASX:JLL, OTCQX:JNDAF) has appointed Wayne Zekulich, an accomplished company director and finance professional, as non-executive chair, effective February 1, 2024.
- Aldoro Resources Ltd (ASX:ARN) confirms the latest niobium results with all six dyke sample assays ranging from 5.8% to 9.03% Nb2O5.
- Radiopharm Theranostics Ltd (ASX:RAD, OTC:RDPTF) has picked up a second Australian site for its Nanomab-PDL-1 Phase 1 therapeutic trial in lung cancer and received ethics committee approval.
- Spenda Ltd (ASX:SPX, OTC:CROTF) has inked a binding Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with eBev Pty Ltd to provide integrated payments solutions across the eBev marketplace.