The ASX 200 is poised to open stronger this morning, with futures up 74 points (+0.8%) as of 8:30 am AEDT, following a mixed but largely constructive session on Wall Street. A strong run from US banks helped steady sentiment after several volatile days driven by tariff tensions and a selloff in tech.
Wall Street steadies as big banks deliver
US stocks swung between gains and losses before ending mixed, trimming heavier early declines. The Dow Jones added 0.44% and the Russell 2000 surged 1.4% to a record high, while the S&P 500 eased 0.16% and the Nasdaq fell 0.76% as investors rotated out of growth and AI-heavy names.
Big banks underpinned the gains: Wells Fargo jumped more than 7%, Citigroup climbed nearly 4%, and Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan both reported solid results, though shares slipped on profit-taking after strong year-to-date gains.
Fed Chair Jerome Powell offered few surprises, saying the economy “may be on a somewhat firmer trajectory than expected” and that bank’s balance sheet run-off may soon be finished, but reiterated that labour conditions remain subdued — remarks that kept expectations alive for another rate cut later this year.
The renewed volatility came amid more posturing from Washington and Beijing. President Trump’s latest comments on potentially halting “cooking oil trade” with China (in retaliation for China’s US soybean ban) and new shipping sanctions rattled markets before a late-session rebound.
Miners extend rally as gold hits new highs
Back home, the S&P/ASX 200 rose 16.6 points (+0.19%) on Tuesday, powered by another strong day for miners. Gold and silver producers led the charge, while iron ore and base metals stocks also joined the rally, helping offset weakness in consumer, energy and tech names.
Lynas Rare Earths added 5%, continuing its extraordinary run, while Northern Star and Evolution both advanced more than 2%. Resource-heavy sectors have now logged a third straight session of gains, with sentiment buoyed by firmer metals prices and investor rotation into hard assets amid rising global uncertainty.
Commodities and currencies
Safe-haven demand remains strong. Gold edged up 0.4% to US$4,143 an ounce, maintaining its record-breaking run. Silver softened slightly after recent highs, while copper fell 3% and oil slipped around 1.5% as supply forecasts from the International Energy Agency pointed to a potential surplus next year.
Iron ore held firm at US$106.53 a tonne. The Australian dollar hovered around US$0.648, little changed overnight.
Cryptocurrencies eased after recent volatility — Bitcoin slipped 2.4% to US$112,900 and Ethereum dropped 3.7%.
What’s on today
A full slate of corporate and economic events could shape local sentiment:
- Bank of Queensland (ASX:BOQ) reports FY25 earnings, with investors watching margins and bad-debt trends.
- Commonwealth Bank, Origin Energy and Orora Group all host annual general meetings.
- China releases September CPI and PPI figures around midday, likely to influence commodity pricing.
- RBA Assistant Governor Sarah Hunter speaks this morning, with remarks expected to focus on services inflation and wage trends.
And in early small caps action:
- Astral Resources NL (ASX:AAR) reported further high-grade gold hits from in-fill drilling at its Theia deposit near Kalgoorlie, with intercepts up to 36.4 g/t confirming strong alignment with its current 1.15-million-ounce resource model.
- Far East Gold Ltd (ASX:FEG) signed key land access and drilling contracts at its Mount Clark West copper-gold project in Queensland, with drilling to begin in early November targeting potential porphyry systems.
- Solis Minerals Ltd (ASX:SLM, TSX-V:SLMN, OTCQB:SLMFF) announced broad zones of copper-gold-molybdenum mineralisation from first drill holes in Peru, including high-tenor sulphides at Ilo Este indicating proximity to a porphyry source.
Meanwhile, dividend payments are due from Qantas, Sims, and Duratec, among others, while Wam Microcap (ASX:WMI) and K&S Corporation (ASX:KSC) trade ex-dividend.