The ASX 200 is set to open higher this morning, with futures pointing up 32 points or 0.4% to 8857.
The ASX200 closed 161 points, or 1.85%, higher at 8,708 on Monday, marking its strongest session since April 2025 and effectively erasing last week’s 160-point decline in a single day.
Gains were broad-based across all 11 sectors, led by Information Technology (+3.31%), Real Estate (+3.23%) and Materials (+2.99%). Health Care (+0.59%), Telco (+0.88%) and Consumer Staples (+0.99%) lagged the broader market but still finished in positive territory.
The rebound followed a strong lead from Wall Street and was further supported by a sharp rally in Japanese equities after Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi secured a decisive election victory, paving the way for aggressive fiscal stimulus. The Nikkei 225 surged 4% on the day.
Among notable corporate movers, CAR Group advanced 9.93% to $26.91 after reporting 1H26 adjusted profit of $196 million, broadly in line with expectations. Web Travel jumped 18.6% to $3.51 after reaffirming full-year earnings guidance. Pepper Money soared 28.4% to $2.26 after confirming receipt of a $2.60 per share takeover bid from Challenger.
On Tuesday, earnings are due from Amotiv and Region Group, while Westpac Consumer Confidence and NAB Business Confidence data are also scheduled. The interest rate market is pricing around 4bp, or a 16% probability, of a 25bp RBA rate hike in March, with a full 25bp hike priced in for the June meeting.
US markets
US sharemarkets advanced as investors positioned ahead of a busy week of earnings and key economic data that could provide further insight into the Federal Reserve’s interest rate outlook.
Seven of the 11 S&P 500 sectors finished higher, led by Information Technology, which rose 1.6% as tech stocks rebounded from last week’s AI-led sell-off. The S&P 500 Software Services index climbed 2.9%.
ServiceNow gained 3.1%, while Salesforce and CrowdStrike rose 1.4% and 3.2%, respectively. Nvidia added 2.4% and Broadcom rose 3.3%, extending gains from the prior session. Oracle surged 9.6% after DA Davidson upgraded the stock to “buy”, citing optimism around OpenAI-related opportunities.
AppLovin jumped 13.2% after CapitalWatch issued an apology and correction regarding a January money laundering allegation. Workday fell 5.1% after announcing co-founder Aneel Bhusri will return as CEO.
At the close, the Dow Jones edged up less than 0.1% to a record high, the S&P 500 rose 0.5% and the Nasdaq gained 0.9%.
European markets
European sharemarkets closed at record highs, supported by corporate earnings and deal-related activity.
Italy’s UniCredit climbed 6.4% after upgrading its profit outlook and signalling a more selective approach to acquisitions, lifting the broader banking sector by 2.2%. Italy’s benchmark index gained 2.1%.
The FTSEurofirst 300 rose 0.7%, while the UK’s FTSE 100 added 0.2%.
Currencies
Major currencies strengthened against the US dollar.
- The euro rose from US$1.1826 to US$1.1926 and was trading near US$1.1910 at the US close.
- The Australian dollar lifted from US70.12 cents to US70.99 cents and was near US70.90 cents late in US trade.
- The Japanese yen firmed from JPY156.78 to JPY155.53 per US dollar and was near JPY155.90 at the close.
Commodities
Oil prices rose about 1% after the US Department of Transportation advised US-flagged vessels to keep distance from Iranian territory when transiting the Strait of Hormuz and Gulf of Oman.
- Brent crude gained US99 cents, or 1.5%, to US$69.04 a barrel, while US Nymex crude rose US81 cents, or 1.3%, to US$64.36.
- Base metals advanced as the US dollar weakened, with copper futures up 1.4% and aluminium rising 0.8%.
- Gold surged, with futures settling US$99.60, or 2%, higher at US$5,079.40 an ounce. Spot gold was trading near US$5,067 late in US trade.
- Iron ore futures added US52 cents, or 0.5%, to US$100.63 a tonne, although rising inventories in China and subdued demand ahead of the Lunar New Year tempered gains. Australia’s major iron ore ports have resumed operations following the easing of cyclone warnings.
Looking ahead
In Australia, consumer and business confidence data and the CBA wage and labour insights report are due, alongside earnings from Amotiv, James Hardie and Region Group.
In the US, retail sales, import and export prices, the employment cost index and the NFIB small business optimism index are scheduled, with earnings expected from Coca-Cola and Ford.