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Australian shares are set to open higher on Wednesday, with the ASX 200 futures up 32 points, or 0.36%, at 8:30am AEDT.
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Wall Street finished mostly higher overnight, but the most interesting development was where the gains came from. The Dow Jones rose 1.02%, the S&P 500 added 0.28% and the Nasdaq was flat, while the Russell 2000 climbed 1.65%.
The move suggests investors are looking beyond the larger technology stocks as doubts about the AI trade continue to drive volatility in chipmakers.
Oil prices retreated slightly and US bond yields fell after an unconfirmed report of a proposal to revive US-Iran talks. Brent remained around US$109 a barrel, however, with tanker attacks and regional tensions keeping energy supply risks in focus.
A lowering of oil prices and bond yields would offer some relief on inflation and interest-rate concerns. Whether that continues will depend on developments in the Middle East and incoming economic data.
What to watch on the ASX
The potential rotation into more defensive and rate-sensitive sectors is worth watching, particularly healthcare and property. Recent strength in these areas contrasts with weakness across parts of the mining sector and renewed uncertainty around AI-related stocks.
The key question today is whether the broader strength seen on Wall Street carries into Australian shares — and whether investors continue shifting towards sectors beyond the AI trade.
Local market news
Xpedra Resources (ASX: XPD) is set to kick phase three drilling at Springfield;
Platina Resources (ASX:PGM) is adding a large-scale NT tin opportunity to its portfolio;
Dreadnought Resources (ASX: DRE) has been granted $180,000 for EIS RC drilling for Nina tungsten;
Lachlan Star (ASX: LSA) is spinning the bit aiming to expand its high-grade gold discovery at New Waverley; and
Pro Medicus (ASX: PME) has signed a $43M, seven-year contract with Virtua Health.
Buck and ore
Now – in forex, the Oz dollar is buying US$0.70
Looking at commodities, all in the greenback,
Iron Ore was down 0.10% to $90.86 in Singapore today,
Brent Crude was down 0.39% to $109.120 per barrel,
Gold was selling at $4124.73,
US natgas futures were down 2.13% to $2.9930 per gigajoule.
That’s HotCopper’s Market Open, I’m Colin Sandell-Hay – happy trading.
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