The ASX 200 is expected to open higher again today, up around 17.1 points for a modest 0.2% gain, following its green close yesterday.
After Monday’s bloodbath across the bourse, two green days is a nice reversal.
A “tamer than expected” producer-price index report from December was the first thing that helped sentiments stay positive: The Tuesday (in the U.S.) data showed inflation at a wholesale level hasn’t been as high as expected.
Market-moving economic data hasn’t stopped flowing through Week 3 just yet though, with key U.S. consumer price index info still on the way.
Hesitancy between celebrating the first report and keeping powder dry for the second has led to the biggest American indices going in opposite directions. Both the Dow Jones and S&P 500 climbed, up 0.5% and 0.1% respectively.
Conversely, the Nasdaq composite fell for a fifth straight session, shaving 0.2%; that tech decline was guided by Nvidia, Meta, Alphabet, and Microsoft all retreating.
Back home, Telstra (ASX:TLS) is preparing to spend a very hefty $700 million on a major country-wide artificial intelligence push to bolster all parts of its business. The rollout – to be overseen by Dublin-based Accenture through a new joint venture – has been set up to run for at least seven years, to 2031.
Macquarie Bank (ASX:MQG) may have outstripped it on spending though, with the financial heavyweight investing $8.1 billion in U.S.-based Applied Digital data centre infrastructure through an asset management subsidiary.
In mining, Many Peaks Minerals (ASX:MPK) started its diamond drilling at its Ferke Gold Project in northern Cote d’Ivoire; this will run alongside its gold digs.
Yancoal Australia Limited (ASX:YAL) is on the hunt for a new CEO after David James Moult hung up the hat in a same-day retirement late yesterday.
Arafura Rare Earths (ASX:ARU) also scored a $200M promise from the NRFC today.
Looking at forex, the Aussie dollar continues to claw back slight ground day by day and this Wednesday is buying 61.9 US cents.
To commodities, which are in the greenback,
Iron Ore cracked triple digits again to sell at $100.60 a tonne in Singapore,
Brent Crude is trading at $80.12,
Gold is trading at $2,684 per ounce, and,
US natgas futures are at $3.97 per gigajoule.
That’s Market Open, I’m Isaac McIntyre, stick with us for HotCopper’s Market Update.