The ASX is expected to open flat this morning as investors await the release of balance of payments data and government finance statistics.
US takes a holiday
There was no lead to follow from the US overnight as the markets enjoyed the Labor Day public holiday, a welcome breather after the hustle and bustle of reporting season.
In holiday trading, US equity futures pointed to the Dow Jones falling 19 points or 0.05%, the S&P 500 futures gaining 4 points or 0.07% and the Nasdaq 100 contracts lifting 24 points or 0.12%.
As a point of reference, at the end of last week the Dow rose 228 points or 0.6% to a record closing high, while the S&P 500 was up 1% and the Nasdaq gained 197 points or 1.1%.
In Europe, there was little movement, with investors similarly anxious to glean information from economic data that might point to the European Central Bank's (ECB) next move.
That said, Germany's benchmark index closed on a record high note despite some populist gains in state elections.
The continent-wide FTSEurofirst 300 index closed flat, while the UK FTSE 100 index slipped 0.2% after recording a three-month high on Friday – its third weekly rise in a row.
HCOB's final euro zone manufacturing purchasing managers' index (PMI), compiled by S&P Global, was hovering at 45.8 in August, just ahead of the 45.6 preliminary estimate but substantially below the 50-mark, which separates growth from contraction.
From a sector perspective, real estate was in the lead, gaining 1.8% to its highest point since February 2023, and Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) raised its view of European property firms to "attractive".
Aerospace and defence slid more than 2.4%, dragged by Rolls-Royce, whose shares fell 6.5%, following Cathay Pacific Airways’ decision to conduct a fleet-wide inspection of its A350 aircraft after finding an engine component failure. Still in the sector, Airbus shares fell 1.4%.
Volkswagen shares rose 1.7% on the news that the company was considering closing factories in Germany for the first time.
Shares in British firm Rightmove skyrocketed 27.4% on the news that majority News Corp (NASDAQ:NWSA)-owned property listings company REA Group was thinking about acquiring it.
Currencies and commodities
Global currencies were mixed in yesterday’s northern hemisphere trade, with the Euro rising from US$1.1055 to US$1.1076 and closing near US$1.1070 late in the day.
The Aussie dollar was stronger, up from 67.63 US cents to 67.94 US cents and ending the day near 67.90 US cents. The yen slipped from 146.07 yen per US dollar to JPY147.12 and was near JPY146.90 in late North American trade.
Oil was up yesterday, making ground on losses last week. Libyan oil exports are still on hold and concerns about higher OPEC+ production from October have eased.
Brent crude was up 59 US cents or 0.8% to US$77.52 a barrel, while US Nymex gained 49 US cents or 0.7% to US$74.04 a barrel in after-hours trade, though trading volumes were low because of the US holiday.
Base metal prices crashed in London trade on Monday – copper futures by 0.7% and aluminium futures by 0.9% on the back of sluggish factory activity data out of China.
Chinese manufacturing data show the country’s biggest industry has slumped to a six-month low, an official manufacturing survey showed on Saturday.
Gold futures were up US$4.10 or 0.2% to US$2,531.70 an ounce in after-hours trade yesterday, as the US dollar eased in anticipation of jobs data on Friday.
Spot gold was trading near US$2,499 an ounce, while iron ore futures were down US$4.22 or 4.2% to US$96.81 a tonne in Singapore trade. This was their steepest daily decline in close to two years – again, economic data from China was the passion killer.
What’s happening in small caps?
The Small Ordinaries index closed at 2987 points yesterday, 18 points or 0.61% down on the previous day.
You can read about the following and more throughout the day on Proactive:
- Noxopharm Ltd (ASX:NOX, OTC:NOXOF) has made ‘substantial’ progress on its Chroma™ technology platform with encouraging brain cancer results and early work on leukaemia.
- Yandal Resources Ltd (ASX:YRL) says assay results from the framework diamond drilling program across the Oblique Prospect have been received.
- Ora Banda Mining Ltd (ASX:OBM) has delivered an update on its Riverina and Sand King underground mines, which form part of the Davyhurst Gold Project.
- Green Technology Metals Ltd (ASX:GT1, OTC:GTMLF) has provided an exploration update from the Junior Lithium project in Ontario, Canada.
- Peninsula Energy Ltd (ASX:PEN, OTCQB:PENMF) and its US subsidiary Strata Energy Inc have reported on plant construction and wellfield development activities at the company’s flagship Lance Project in Wyoming, USA.