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At The Bell — Wall Street is ticking over to more and more highs after starting Week 22 relatively late, but Down Under, we’re holding fast as we wait for that big April inflation print I’ve been flagging since Monday. Every chance we’re quite flat — right now just two points down — until that drops at 12.30 PM.
Hear from all the ASX-listed companies that were at the RIU Resources Round-Up in Sydney, right here on HotCopper.com. Over a dozen video interviews.
Over the pond, U.S. traders have been rushing in to buy after their Memorial Day break, and that’s left the Nasdaq nearly +1.2% higher and the S&P 500 +0.6%. That’s largely been tech-led, while oil is, of course, still hugely volatile.
It’s quite the turnaround on Wall Street; after being down -7% YTD at the end of March, it’s now headed +17% the other way in an almighty recovery.
We’ve had barely any of that come to our Aussie shores, of course — and, again, we’re missing out on the green surge as we wait for our data. On that front, the CPI very likely lifted in April after oil prices exploded.
We’ll see whether economists got that one right after midday today.
ASX stocks to watch
Now, onto stocks, where Forescue (ASX:FMG) and BHP (ASX:BHP) are at all-out war in the Pilbara. ABC’s Four Corners has become the latest tinderbox, with Fortescue calling for more diesel rebates after the program alleged BHP “systematically walked back… its highly publicised green energy commitments.”
CommBank (ASX:CBA) remains a heavy watch, too, after it yesterday spruiked the Wall Street SpaceX IPO to retail investors – and dropped -0.2%.
While we’re talking about CBA, actually, CEO Matt Comyn has been very vocal against Albo’s sweeping CGT changes; he (loudly) warned against “changing the incentives towards risk and enterprise and innovation.”
Elsewhere, there are two bidders left for the struggling Whyalla steelworks, with Energy Minister Tom Koutsantonis saying a sale is “imminent.”
And, Nine (ASX:NEC) has bid to bring the NRL to Stan Sport from CY28.
Buck and ore
In forex, the Oz dollar buys US 71.6c.
And to commodities, all in the greenback,
Brent Crude is down again, shaving ~4% to stay just under the round buck; talks of peace in Iran have dropped it to $99.37 today,
Iron Ore is -1.7% weaker; $105 a tonne in Singapore,
Gold down, $4,515/ounce, and,
US natgas futures at ~$2.87 per gigajoule.
That’s HotCopper‘s Market Open, I’m Isaac McIntyre – happy trading today.
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