After gaining 0.7% yesterday, the Australian sharemarket is set open higher this morning — the ASX futures are pointing to a rise of 32 points, or 0.4%.
This follows a rise in US markets overnight, as investors digested US President Donald Trump's initial executive orders and awaited further developments on trade policy.
Trump is yet to lay out any concrete plans on the universal tariffs and additional surcharges on close trade partners as previously promised but indicated he may impose duties on Canadian and Mexican goods as early as February 1.
Trump had threatened even stiffer tariffs on Chinese imports during his campaign but said he wants to first have more discussions with the leader of the world’s second-largest economy.
This US earnings reporting season is still in its early days but S&P 500 companies have so far been beating analysts’ earnings expectations.
- The Dow Jones index rose by 538 points or 1.2%.
- The S&P 500 index gained 0.9%.
- The Nasdaq index added 127 points or 0.6%.
Electricity generation stock Vistra Corp rose 8.5% after evacuation orders stemming from a fire at the company’s Moss Landing battery storage facility were lifted.
Oracle shares jumped 7.2% on reports that the software maker is involved in a joint venture with OpenAI and SoftBank to build artificial intelligence infrastructure in the US. 3M rose 4.2% after posting upbeat fourth-quarter profits.
Moderna soared 5.3% after securing US$590 million from the US to hasten development of its bird flu vaccine.
Apple slid 3.2% after brokerage Jefferies cut its rating to 'underperform'.
Walgreens fell 9.2% after the US Justice Department accused it of filling unlawful prescriptions for addictive painkillers and other drugs.
In Europe, sharemarkets climbed, buoyed by gains in the healthcare and luxury sectors, but the uptick was tempered by lingering uncertainties over US President Donald Trump's proposed tariff measures.
- The continent-wide FTSEurofirst 300 index rose by 0.4%.
- In London, the UK FTSE 100 index gained 0.3%.
Heavyweight healthcare was the biggest boost, with a 1.5% rise, with drugmaker Novo Nordisk advancing 4.0%.
Luxury stocks also gained 1.5%, boosted by a 5.3% jump in Burberry.
Personal and household goods was also among the top winning sectors, adding 1.2%.
Basic resources dipped 1.0%, tracking lower metal prices.
European automakers came under pressure. Shares of Volkswagen, BMW and Stellantis slipped between 0.8% and 2% on uncertainty over possible new tariffs.
Currencies
Currencies were mixed against the US dollar in European and US trade.
- The Euro rose from US$1.0343 to US$1.0434 and was near US$1.0420 at the US close.
- The Aussie dollar lifted from US62.14 cents to US62.74 cents was near US62.70 cents at the US close.
- The Japanese yen fell from 155.00 yen per US dollar to JPY156.02 and was near JPY155.55 at the US close.
- The Mexican peso and Canadian dollar both fell against the US dollar after Trump said he expects to put 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico starting on February 1.
Commodities
Global oil prices fell on Tuesday after US President Donald Trump declared a national energy emergency on his first day in office, raising concerns of higher US output in a market widely expected to be oversupplied this year.
- The Brent crude price fell US86 cents or 1.1% to US$79.29 a barrel.
- The US Nymex crude price lost US$1.99 or 2.6% to US$75.89 a barrel.
Base metal prices fell on Tuesday after US President Donald Trump suggested the United States could impose a 25% tariff on imports from Canada and Mexico from February 1.
- Copper futures fell 0.6%.
- Aluminium futures dipped 0.9%.
The gold futures price rose by US$10.50 or 0.4% to an over two-month high of US$2,759.20 an ounce on Tuesday, supported by a weaker US dollar and as markets flocked to the safe-haven asset as uncertainty surrounding US President Donald Trump's potential tariffs continued to loom.
Spot gold was trading near US$2,743 at the US close.
Iron ore futures settled unchanged at US$101.21 a tonne on Tuesday after US President Donald Trump did not immediately impose tariffs on US trading partners.
What’s happening in small caps?
- Sovereign Metals Ltd has announced the results of an optimised pre-feasibility study (OPFS) for its Kasiya Rutile-Graphite Project in Malawi, reconfirming its potential to be the world’s largest producer of natural rutile and natural flake graphite.
- AuMEGA Metals Ltd has outlined an expansive 2025 exploration program on its projects along the Cape Ray Shear Zone and Hermitage Flexure in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada.
- Orthocell Ltd will accelerate the market expansion of Remplir™ on the back of outstanding early sales traction and ahead of US FDA clearance expected in March/April 2025.
- Pantoro Ltd has appointed Stuart Mathews as an independent non-executive director effective today. A mining professional with more than 30 years’ experience, Mathews is highly regarded for his ability to successfully deliver projects from early feasibility stages through to mine development, construction and full-scale operations.