Australian shares are poised to open higher on Thursday, snapping a three-day losing streak after a strong rebound on Wall Street. SPI futures point to the ASX 200 opening 24 points, or 0.27%, higher.
The local market fell for a third consecutive session on Wednesday, tracking sharp overnight losses in the US after President Donald Trump escalated rhetoric around tariffs and Greenland. The S&P/ASX 200 closed down 0.4%, or 33 points, at 8,782.9, with eight of the 11 sectors finishing lower. The pullback followed declines of more than 2% in the S&P 500 and Nasdaq after Trump threatened tariffs on several European nations.
Attention turns to today's December labour force data at 11:30am AEDT. National Australia Bank expects the unemployment rate to hold at 4.3%, with employment rising by 40,000 jobs. NAB said risks remain skewed slightly higher for unemployment due to participation effects, although rotation data points to a solid employment outcome. The Reserve Bank of Australia last pencilled in unemployment of 4.4% in its November Statement on Monetary Policy.
A busy session of quarterly updates is also due, with Fortescue, Insignia Financial, Northern Star Resources, Regis Resources, Resolute Mining, Sandfire Resources, Santos and South32 all reporting.
US markets rebound as tariff threats ease
US sharemarkets staged a sharp recovery on Wednesday after suffering their steepest sell-off in three months. Sentiment improved after President Trump signalled he would not use military force in his push to acquire Greenland and later withdrew threats to impose tariffs on countries opposing the move.
Speaking in Davos, Trump said he had reached the outlines of a deal with NATO regarding Greenland’s future, easing investor concerns. Megacap technology stocks led the rebound, with Nvidia up 2.9% and Alphabet rising 2.0%. Intel surged 11.7% to its highest level since January 2022 amid a broader rally in semiconductor stocks, after Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang highlighted the need for trillions of dollars in future computing infrastructure investment.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 589 points, or 1.2%. The S&P 500 gained 79 points, or 1.2%, while the Nasdaq added 270.5 points, also up 1.2%.
Elsewhere, United Airlines advanced 2.2% after issuing an upbeat outlook. Johnson & Johnson slipped 0.1% despite forecasting 2026 sales and earnings ahead of expectations, while Netflix fell 2.2% after issuing weaker-than-expected first-quarter guidance.
European stocks steady as miners outperform
European sharemarkets pared early losses to close broadly flat after Trump softened his stance on Greenland. Mining stocks surged 3.7%, providing key support.
Rio Tinto jumped 5.2% after beating expectations for quarterly iron ore and copper production. In contrast, insurance stocks fell 1.7%, with Admiral Group down 4.1% after Goldman Sachs downgraded the stock to sell.
The FTSEurofirst 300 index edged down 0.1%, while London’s FTSE 100 added 0.1%.
Currencies mixed as Aussie dollar firms
Currency markets were mixed against the US dollar. The euro slipped from US$1.1742 to US$1.1677 and was near US$1.1685 at the US close.
The Australian dollar strengthened, rising from US67.30 cents to US67.77 cents, before easing slightly to around US67.60 cents late in the session. The Japanese yen weakened, with the US dollar rising from JPY157.72 to about JPY158.40.
Commodities higher as oil and gold gain
Oil prices settled higher on optimism around tighter global supply following a temporary shutdown at two major oilfields in Kazakhstan. Brent crude rose US32 cents, or 0.5%, to US$65.24 a barrel, while US Nymex crude gained US26 cents, or 0.4%, to US$60.62 a barrel.
Gold surged as geopolitical uncertainty boosted safe-haven demand. Futures jumped US$71.70, or 1.5%, to US$4,837.50 an ounce, while spot gold was trading near US$4,817 after earlier touching a session high of US$4,887.82.
Base metals were mixed, with copper down 0.8% and aluminium up 0.5%. Iron ore futures slipped US8 cents, or 0.1%, to US$106.46 a tonne, despite strong quarterly shipment data from Rio Tinto.
What to watch next
In Australia, the focus remains firmly on labour force data and a heavy slate of quarterly reports from major miners and energy producers.
In the US, personal income and spending data, PCE inflation, weekly jobless claims and GDP figures are all due. Corporate earnings are also in focus, with Alcoa, GE Aerospace, Intel, Freeport-McMoRan and Procter & Gamble reporting.