After a strong day of trade yesterday, the ASX is again set to open higher this morning as it edges towards new all-time highs.
The SPI 200 futures are trading 0.37%, or 28 points, higher at 9am (AEDT) following modest gains in overseas markets overnight as many push towards new record highs.
On Wall Street, the S&P 500 was up 0.1% to end the session just 0.3% below its record closing high of 4,796.56, while the Dow ended the session 0.3% higher, and the Nasdaq gained 0.2%.
European markets were also higher after a two-day holiday. The pan-European Stoxx 600 index closed up 0.27% to be within reach of its own record high set in November 2021.
Iron ore surges
The price of iron ore — Australia’s biggest export — has surged to 18-month highs with January iron ore futures contracts in Singapore trading above US$140 ($205) per tonne on Wednesday. This propelled BHP shares to a record high of $50.60 during the session, while Fortescue hit new highs of $28.73.
The steel-making commodity rallied to its highest price since June 2022 thanks to efforts by Beijing to stem China’s property market’s decline. In November, Beijing announced a 1 trillion yuan ($210 billion) plan to support urban revitalisation, providing support to the steel-intensive property sector.
The strength in iron ore has supported a rise in the Australian dollar to its highest level since July. The Aussie is now trading at around 68.48 US cents. The AUD typically follows commodity price moves, particularly that of iron ore — every US$10 per tonne increase in the iron ore price translating to $5.3 billion in nominal GDP terms.
On the small cap front
The S&P ASX Small Ordinaries gained 1.20% yesterday, while the ASX 200 ended 0.79% higher.
You can read more about the following throughout the day.
- European Lithium Ltd (ASX:EUR, OTCQB:EULIF) confirm that the SEC have approve the Wolfsberg merger in which the company is set to receive $750 million in ordinary share in the newly-formed, lithium exploration and development company, “Critical Metals Corp.,” which is expected to list on the NASDAQ under the symbol “CRML” .
- Recce Pharmaceuticals Ltd (ASX:RCE, OTC:RECEF) announces further positive efficacy data, with RECCE® 327 (R327) showing significant antibacterial activity against E. coli urinary tract infections by Murdoch Children’s Research Institute.
- Provaris Energy Ltd (ASX:PV1, OTC:GBBLF) has been coerced by Longspur Research after signing an MoU with energy major Uniper to evaluate the Provaris compressed hydrogen transport and storage solutions as a means of supplying hydrogen to Germany.
- Peninsula Energy Ltd (ASX:PEN, OTCQB:PENMF)’s managing director and CEO Wayne Heili addresses the challenges of 2023 in a letter to shareholders.
- Richmond Vanadium Technology Ltd (ASX:RVT) looks forward to 2024 and unlocking the potential of its world-class Richmond-Julia Creek vanadium deposit.