Market Open: Record breaking lead from US index

The ASX200 is tipped to gain up to 0.2 per cent after the S&P500 closed up half a per cent to a record high.

The Dow Jones was also nudging its record and the Nasdaq gained 0.4 per cent – in the lead up to the US interest rates decision on Thursday morning. Apple was one of the stronger performers, adding 1.3 per cent.

Our market is also set to be boosted by yesterday’s interest rates speak – with every word from RBA Governor Michele Bullock now analysed! The money is on a first rate cut in September, with a 70 per cent backing that it could come earlier, in August.

In ASX small cap stocks to watch this morning, Sovereign Metals (ASX:SVM) has delivered its first 30 tonnes of rutile graphite from its Kasiya project in Malawi to a lab for large-scale testing. Rio Tinto (ASX:RIO) holds 15 per cent of the project, after investing $40.4 million.

Southern Cross Electrical Engineering (ASX:SXE) has amassed $70 million in contract awards in New South Wales and WA across data centres and mining operations; and,

Enova Mining (ASX:ENV) will proceed with the acquisition of CODA rare earth elements project tenements in Brazil. Enova already has the Charley Creek rare earths project in the Northern Territory.

The Aussie dollar is at US65 cents, iron ore has been trading at US$104.50 a tonne, gold’s been at US$2157.44 an ounce,

Crude and Brent crude are both higher due to concerns about supplies from Russia, Brent’s been at US$87.14 a barrel, while natural gas has gained another 2.5 per cent to US$1.74 per million British thermal units.

That’s Market Open. We’ll bring you a trading update once the session’s well underway.