The ASX is set to open lower this morning with futures down 0.8 percent and BHP Billiton shares plunging 4,7% overnight after Anglo had rejected an improved takeover offer, but given the world’s biggest miner a week”s extension to put better numbers on the table.
BHP’s third offer rose 9% to $73.9 billion and took the two companies closer to a handshake, but was still not enough to get Anglo over the line with BHP chief executive Mike Henry describing the swap offer of each Anglo share for 0.886 BHP shares as “final”.
ASX shares were looking down with the Dow Jones shedding 0.5%, the S&P500 breaking a three-day winning streak to close 0.3% lower and the Nasdaq 0,2%.
This came after the minutes from the latest Fed meeting flagged concerns about inflation not cooling in the US and analysts casting a fresh look on the prospects of a rates cut this year.
Nvidia released its quarterly results and its shares were up 2.4% in New York as results exceeded expectations with second quarter revenue of US$28 billion coming in US$2billion above analyst’s calls. Nvidia said it would be increasing its cash dividend by 150% to US$0.10 per share.
All eyes will be on the London Stock market today after Britain’s prime minister Rishni Sunak stunned the nation by calling a shock election in the summer with the ruling Conservative Party trailing badly in the polls and expected to be thrashed in the ballot box with the Labour party set to regain power for the first time since 2010.
Sunak could barely be heard outside No.10 Downing Street where his voice was reportedly drowned out by protesters calling for an end to Tory rule and blaring a former Tony Blair election song, Things Can Only Get Better by D:Ream.
Morgan Stanley has noted that the Australia sharemarket, not far off records set in March, was still being driven by large cap stocks but was bullish on the ASX as it anticipated the RBA cutting rates later in the year.
Iron ore was up 0.7% to $117 but gold has dived -1.8% to $2377.35. Brent Crude slumped -1.5% to $81.67 a barrel and natural gas is up 3.75% to $2.77 a gigajoule. After hitting a record high in London this week of $11,104 a metric ton, traders were reported to be scrambling to ship cargoes of copper metal to warehouses in the United States to cover short positions.
Copper has risen 27% since January and cooled -3% to $10.44 a tonne this morning.