We said it yesterday, but the ASX is expected to open higher this morning after US markets edged up overnight.
The S&P/ASX200 did, however, close 0.1% lower, down 4.7 points to 7,452.2 yesterday.
Energy and industrial stocks outperformed but most sectors closed lower.
ASX futures are up 0.1% at 6.30am AEDT to 7,453.
Here’s what we saw:
- The Aussie dollar rose from lows near US73.85 cents to highs near US74.30 cents and was near US74.25 cents in afternoon US trade.
- Global oil prices rose by near 0.8% on Monday on news of the passing of a US$1 trillion US infrastructure bill which may serve to lift energy demand.
- The Brent crude price rose by US69 cents or 0.8% to US$83.43 a barrel.
- The US Nymex crude price rose by US66 cents or 0.8% to US$81.93 a barrel.
- Base metal prices rose by 0.6-2.0% on Monday with lead up the least and aluminium up the most.
- The gold futures price rose by US$11.20 or 0.6% to U$1,828.00 an ounce.
- Spot gold was trading near US$1,824 an ounce at the US close.
- Iron ore rose by US$1.10 or 1.2% to US$93.85 a tonne.
Australian markets
All roads point to a good start for the ASX this morning, with Wall St finishing strongly and futures pointing upwards, but given recent similar sentiments about fast starts we’ll reserve judgement until the opening bell rings and the tickers start moving in an upward trajectory.
Some of the more interesting news to land at the news desk involves Afterpay, Crown and the first locally managed Nasdaq SPAC targeting only Aussie + Kiwi tech companies.
Afterpay launches new app
While most of the talk surrounding the Aussie tech giant has been around Square’s takeover, with Square shareholders backing the $39 million acquisition (Australia’s largest ever takeover) last week, Afterpay has been quietly improving its services.
We saw a small spike in Afterpay’s share price yesterday, from its opening of $115.38 to its close of $116.75. It is a slow climb higher after the share price of both Square and Afterpay dropped following Square’s disappointing Q3 earnings report.
We could see Afterpay’s shares rise higher again today after a positive news story that saw it launch its new money and lifestyle app Money by Afterpay targeted at Gen Z and Millennial customers.
The app is a mix of content and finance management with BNPL integrated.
“Bringing Money by Afterpay to life in just 12 short months reflects the incredible passion our team has for our customers - and for the relentless drive to challenge the status quo in order to deliver a better offering,” Afterpay co-CEOs and co-founders Anthony Eisen and Nick Molnar said.
“Afterpay has become synonymous with Buy Now Pay Later and now we hope Money by Afterpay becomes the go-to for all things money - earnings, spending, savings and BNPL.”
Crown gets new CEO
Crown Resorts Group Ltd has appointed former CEO for Accor Pacific Simon McGrath as the new CEO of Crown Sydney.
McGrath will report to Crown Resorts CEO and managing director Steve McCann once he takes up his new role on February 1.
As CEO of Accor, McGrath was responsible for more than 397 hotels, 62,276 guest rooms and 18,000 employees.
He has also held senior executive positions in hotel groups including Southern Pacific Hotels (SPHC) and Rydges Hotel Groups.
"We are very excited to welcome Simon to the executive team at Crown, to lead our newest Australian resort in Sydney and oversee our hospitality offer," McCann said
"Simon is a highly regarded executive who will bring to Crown his wealth of experience in the operation of luxury hotels and global hospitality businesses.
"With Simon's stewardship, we are confident that Crown Sydney will set the standard of excellence for all of our customers and guests."
Nasdaq’s Aussie focused SPAC
An Australian SPAC (Special Purpose Acquisition Company) has completed its US$115 million IPO on the Nasdaq — which will be the first to specifically target a merger with an Aussie or Kiwi tech company. This will give them a fast-track route to the Nasdaq and follow in the footsteps of Atlassian (NASDAQ:TEAM) and Rocket Lab.
The IPO was underwritten by Wells Fargo and Cohen & Company (NYSE:COHN) Capital Markets acted as an advisor to Integral 1. The units are now trading under the symbol INTEU.
This is the first SPAC solely focused on Australia and New Zealand technology companies. The proceeds of the IPO will be used to invest in one of Australia or New Zealand’s most exciting and ambitious growth companies, giving them a fast-track route to the Nasdaq, following in the footsteps of great Aussie and Kiwi success stories. Integral 1 will now start conversations with leading technology companies to facilitate the partner company’s public listing on the Nasdaq.
Integral 1 is led by founder & CEO Enrique Klix (ex-McKinsey and Citigroup executive) and chairman James Cotton (founder of CMO Compliance and Uluwatu Capital), the Integral 1 team will follow a rigorous investment approach to identify and evaluate attractive potential targets. The team will leverage its strong corporate, entrepreneurial and transactional experience, local knowledge, and first degree connections with local PE and VC firms.
The SPAC has received significant support from prominent Australian investors Artesian and AS1 Growth Partners, as well as US-based firms Crescent Park Management and Carnegie Park Capital, who have committed a collective US$30 million investment in the form of forward purchase agreements. Enrique Klix and James Cotton’s Uluwatu Capital are both key investors, alongside other US and Canadian institutional investors specialising in SPACs.
This listing comes at a time of rapid growth for Australian and New Zealand technology companies. Venture capital investment in local companies has seen a 30% compound annual growth rate over the last five years, with more than $2.5 billion invested last year alone. The increase in investment and ambition of the local tech community has led to the formation of dozens of companies worth over $100 million in the last couple of years.
“Over the past 20 years, Australia and New Zealand have grown into hotbeds of innovation, with established tech hubs producing some of the world’s leading businesses in their field. We’re seeing more companies than ever coming out of our local tech ecosystem valued at over $100 million and there are no signs of this slowing,” Integral 1 CEO Enrique Klix said.
“We believe the Nasdaq represents a more natural home for high growth tech startups looking to solve global problems, providing access to investors that understand their value as well as appropriate benchmarks and a broader community of analysts focused on technology companies.
"Our team’s superior local knowledge, investor network and understanding of the landscape in Australia and New Zealand means we are best placed to enable companies with international ambitions to access the best possible opportunities for growth.”
Australian indices (at time of writing)
- ASX 200 rose 0.10% to 7,459.90.
- ASX24 futures rose 0.1% to 7,456.
- S&P/ASX Small Ordinaries rose 0.11% to 3,562.70.
- All Ordinaries rose 0.11% to 7,776.50.
US markets
All major US indices were higher overnight as the US House of Representatives passed a $US1.2 trillion infrastructure bill after months of debate.
This marks the first real milestone in President Joe Biden’s economic agenda.
A second piece of the agenda, a $2 trillion social spending bill currently being negotiated, will take longer to push through Congress.
Biden will sign the landmark bill into law shortly.
The President has been a busy man.
This week he also called for greater oil output from OPEC+ oil producers and was weighing options to address high prices such as tapping oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.
Meanwhile, there is talk that the US economy could be ready for the Federal Reserve to raise its benchmark borrowing rate by the end of next year.
"While we are clearly a while away from considering raising interest rates, necessary conditions for raising the target range for the federal funds rate will have been met by year-end 2022," the central bank’s vice chair Richard Clarida said.
US indices
- Dow Jones was up 0.3% to 36,432.22.
- S&P 500 rose 0.1% to 4,701.7.
- Nasdaq rose 0.1% to 15,982.36.
European markets
European sharemarkets were little-changed on Monday.
Any gains were led by basic resources up 1.4% and energy up 0.9% after the US Congress passed the US$1 trillion infrastructure bill.
Reuters reported "Frankfurt-listed shares of Tesla dropped 3.5% after Twitter users voted "yes" to Tesla chief executive officer Elon Musk's proposal to sell 10% of his stock in the company."
In London trade shares in Rio Tinto rose by 1.1% while BHP shares rose by 0.7%.
European indices
- STOXX 600 rose 0.035% to 483.61.
- German Dax fell 0.1% to 16,046.52.
- UK FTSE fell 0.1% to 7,300.40.