TMH Market Open: Flat for Friday on the ASX200, Tesla drops on Cybertruck launch

The Australian stock market may pull back a bit today – to the tune of about .13 per cent. 

This is despite the S&P500’s late rally, which saw it reach its highest point since mid-2022 – the index added 0.38 per cent. Shares in software company Salesforce helped it get there, after climbing 9.2 per cent on its earnings report.

The Dow Jones added more, up 1.47 per cent, but the Nasdaq shed 0.2 per cent 

No doubt there was some selling by investors capitalising on profits garnered from November’s market rally, during which the S&P 500 added 8.9 per cent.

Tesla shed 1.78 per cent on the release of its futuristic Cybertruck, which is ready for delivery. It’ll cost US$61,000 – that’s US$21,000 more than promised when the concept was launched four years ago.

Ford Motor Co slid 3.7 per cent on the $8.8 billion cost of a new labour deal which also meant cutting its full-year forecast.

Aussie CEO pay revealed

In Australia, the CEO pay across the top 300 companies has been released by the AFR for the first time since the pandemic with Macquarie’s head Shemara Wikramanayake leading the way. As one of just two women on the list, she was paid more than $30 million in 2022-23.

Dollar and Commodities

The Aussie dollar has been buying 66 US cents, while Bitcoin’s been trading flat, just above the $57,000 mark.

Iron ore has been at $130.38 a tonne, crude oil has slipped 2.5 per cent to $75.91, gold has shed half a per cent to $2035 and natural gas has been trading at $2.80.