Market snapshot
- ASX 200 futures: +0.2% to 8,217 points
- Australian dollar: -0.3% to 62.19 US cents
- S&P 500: +0.1% to 6,043 points
- Nasdaq: +0.1% to 20,055 points
- FTSE: +0.4% to 8,134 points
- Spot gold: +0.8% to $US2,634/ounce
- Brent crude: -0.6% to $US73.12/barrel
- Bitcoin: +3% to $US95,433
Price current around 7:50am AEDT
Live updates on the major ASX indices:
ICYMI: Dan Ziffer’s Finance Report
Wall Street rises, benchmark US yield ekes out new high
Wall Street indexes were marginally higher on Thursday and US benchmark Treasury yields were hardly changed on the day after scaling the highest levels since May inlight, post-Christmas trading.
US stocks steadied after the three major indexes slipped in early trading, interrupting what looked like a “Santa Claus rally” shaping up early this week, in which shares get a seasonal boost from low liquidity, tax loss harvesting and investment of year-end bonuses.
Uncertainties around President-elect Donald Trump’s policies lifted gold prices. This, along with the Federal Reserve’s less dovish messaging about lowering rates further next year, helped elevate the 10-year Treasury yield to its highest since early May.
“It’s light volume and now we are recovering some earlier losses due to some profit taking from Tuesday’s rally,” said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Spartan Capital Securities in New York. “I think we’re in the Santa Claus rally, with a little bit of a bump in the road here today, and it’s probably safe to say the year-end rally will continue.”
With only a handful of trading days remaining in the year, the Nasdaq, S&P 500 and the Dow have scored respective gains of 33%, 26% and 14% in 2024.
The major concerns for 2025 are the extent of the Fed’s monetary easing, Trump’s tariffs and other policies, andvarious geopolitical tensions.
New US claims for unemployment benefits came in slightly below analysts’ estimates, while ongoing claims jumped to their largest number since November 2021, suggesting laid off workers are having increasing difficulty finding new jobs.
ASX to open higher
Good morning and welcome to our Friday’s markets live blog, where we’ll bring you the latest price action and news on the ASX and beyond.
A rally on Wall Street overnight sets the tone for local market action today.
The Dow Jones index rose 0.1 per cent, the S&P 500 up 0.1 per cent and the Nasdaq Composite up 0.1 per cent.
ASX futures were up 19 points or 0.2 per cent to 8,217 at 7:30am AEDT.
At the same time, the Australian dollar was down 0.3 per cent to 62.18 US cents.
Oil gave up earlier gains due to China stimulus hopes and an industry report showing lower US inventories.
Brent crude oil was down 0.6 per cent, trading at $US73.12 a barrel.
Gold advanced on safe-haven demand as investors awaited further signals on the US economy’s health.
Spot gold gained 0.8 per cent to $US2634.19.
