The ASX is set to start the week higher, with ASX 200 futures trading 11 points higher, up 0.14% as of 8:30 am AEDT.
It comes as the S&P 500 and Nasdaq once again hit record highs.
Gold also hit its highest close on record as yields fell and US manufacturing data created disappointment.
Last Friday, shares posted their sixth gain in seven sessions to close at a record high over a week. This was punctuated by global inflation prints in Australia and the US that sandbagged expectations the global interest rate cycle has peaked.
On the day the S&P/ASX 200 finished up 0.6% to a record 7745.6 points for a weekly gain of 1.3%.
What happened last week?
(source Commsec)
US share markets
Experienced notable gains on Friday, driven predominantly by a rally in technology stocks amid sustained excitement over artificial intelligence. The decline in US bond yields further buoyed the market.
Nvidia Corporation, a leading chipmaker, saw its shares climb by 4%, surpassing a market value of US$2 trillion for the first time. Advanced Micro Devices also enjoyed a significant uptick, gaining 5.3% and reaching a new high, while the Philadelphia semiconductor index closed at an unprecedented peak after a 4.3% increase.
Dell Technologies reported an exceptional surge of 31.6%, marking its largest daily percentage gain, following the company's optimistic annual revenue and profit forecasts that exceeded market expectations. Similarly, data storage firm NetApp Inc (NASDAQ:NTAP) witnessed an 18.2% jump in its shares after reporting strong earnings results.
Conversely, New York Community Bancorp experienced a significant downturn, with shares plummeting by 25.9%. The decline came after the bank disclosed "material weaknesses" in its internal controls concerning loan review processes. Boeing Co (NYSE:BA, ETR:BCO) also faced a setback, with shares declining by 1.8% amid reports of potential acquisition talks with supplier Spirit AeroSystems.
- The Dow Jones Industrial Average modestly rose by 91 points or 0.2%.
- The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite indexes both reached record highs, with gains of 0.8% and 1.1%, respectively.
- Over the week, the S&P 500 advanced by 0.9% and the Nasdaq by 1.7%, although the Dow slightly fell by 0.1%.
European share markets
Also reached new heights, largely propelled by rate-sensitive stocks, despite data indicating persistently high core prices. The real estate and technology sectors led the gains, increasing by 1.8% and 1.6%, respectively.
The eurozone's annual inflation rate saw a slight decrease to 2.6% in February from 2.8% in January, but core prices, excluding volatile food and energy prices, only marginally declined to 3.1% from 3.3%.
The FTSEurofirst 300 index rose by 0.6% to a record high, with a modest 0.1% increase over the week. Meanwhile, the UK's FTSE 100 index advanced by 0.7%, despite a 0.3% decline over the week.
Currencies
In recent trading sessions, currencies experienced an uptick against the US dollar both in European and US markets.
The Euro saw a rise from US$1.0797 to US$1.0842, closing near US$1.0835. The Australian dollar also appreciated, moving from US64.90 cents to US65.32 cents, and ended the session close to US65.25 cents. Similarly, the Japanese yen strengthened against the US dollar, moving from 150.69 yen to 150.06 yen per US dollar, with a close near JPY150.10.
Commodities
Commodity markets witnessed notable movements, particularly in the energy sector.
Global oil prices increased by 2% on Friday, buoyed by anticipation around the OPEC+ decision regarding supply agreements for the upcoming second quarter.
Brent crude escalated by US$1.64 or 2% to US$83.55 a barrel, while US Nymex crude saw an addition of US$1.71 or 2.2%, closing at US$79.97 a barrel. Over the week, Brent crude reported a 2.4% gain following the switch in contract months, and Nymex crude oil prices surged by 4.5%.
The base metals market also reflected positive trends as the US dollar weakened. Copper futures increased by 0.5%, and aluminium futures saw a 1% jump. However, copper experienced a 0.7% decline over the week, whereas aluminium recorded a 2.7% rise.
Gold futures price witnessed a significant boost, rising by US$41 or 2% to a two-month high of US$2,095.70 an ounce. Spot gold traded near US$2,083 an ounce at the close, marking a 2.3% increase over the week, its second consecutive weekly gain.
Conversely, iron ore futures faced a downturn, decreasing by US68 cents or 0.6% to US$113.89 a tonne following the release of disappointing factory data from China. The commodity experienced a 10.2% decline over the week, driven by concerns over demand.
What's next for Australian stock market?
Wealth Within chief analyst Dale Gillham looks ahead at what to expect from the Aussie market in the coming weeks.
“If you had read my report at the start of February, you would have seen that I performed some seasonality analysis for the month, which resulted in statistics showing it was going to be a flat month.
"As we close out February, this is pretty much what happened. This week also closed out the first round of reporting for 2024, which has produced an overall upbeat result, with over 65% of companies either beating or meeting expectations. Considering all the talk of recession and inflationary concerns, that's not bad.
“Now, if you’ve been keeping up with my reports over the last couple of weeks, you would know that I’ve been waiting for the All Ordinaries index to break its all-time high. Well, I can now finally post that it took until the last day of February for this to occur.
"This is exciting news for our stock market, and I anticipate the first week of March pushing our index even higher, providing us with upward momentum for at least the next two to three weeks. In last week's report, I provided possible levels of future resistance being 8,150 and 8,750 points, so keep a close eye on these levels.
“What’s also interesting to note in terms of trading volume this month is that the Materials sector was the most active. Materials turned over more than four times the volume of the next best sector, which was Energy.
"This indicates that the materials sector was where most of the action was for traders and investors during the reporting period, so I'd encourage you to take a deeper look in this sector as you might find some hidden gems with the potential for fantastic returns.”
What about small caps?
The S&P/ASX Small Ordinaries (XSO), finished the week 0.41% higher to 3,011.10. Over the week, it gained 2.24%.
It’s a public holiday in Perth this week, so news flow could be quiet.
In the meantime, you can read about the following and more throughout the day.
- FireFly Metals Ltd (ASX:FFM) announced more outstanding wide high-grade copper-gold intersections from its drilling program at the Green Bay project in Canada.
- Suvo Strategic Minerals Ltd has signed a non-binding Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Dowsing Group to collaborate in good faith in progressing and negotiating a strategic partnership agreement to exploit Suvo’s licensed intellectual property, a low carbon geopolymer concrete plant and formulations.