ASX Poised for Flat Open Amid Global Market Highs
The Australian sharemarket is expected to open nearly unchanged on Wednesday, with ASX futures indicating a slight 1-point decline at 6:58am AEDT. This comes despite Wall Street reaching new record highs and global bond yields easing, as investors weigh stronger offshore equities against lingering concerns over high interest rates, weak consumer confidence, and rising energy costs.
Tuesday’s session saw the S&P/ASX 200 gain 49.3 points, or 0.6%, to close at 8,735.7. Real estate stocks led the gains, with Vicinity Centres up 3.2%, Scentre Group rising 2.7%, Stockland gaining 2.5%, and Mirvac adding 1.6%. The major banks also performed well, with Commonwealth Bank and National Australia Bank up 0.8%, while Westpac and ANZ gained 0.6%. Mining majors BHP, Fortescue, and Rio Tinto saw gains of 1.6%, 1.4%, and 1.1%, respectively. However, technology stocks underperformed, with Codan falling 4.3%, WiseTech Global down 2.5%, NextDC losing 2.2%, and Technology One slipping 1.8%.
Consumer sentiment in Australia has weakened significantly, with the Westpac-Melbourne Institute Consumer Sentiment Index dropping 4.7% to 80.4 in October. Confidence among those surveyed after the Reserve Bank of Australia’s rate hike to 4.6% fell to 67.2, its lowest level since the late 1990s. Despite this, US sharemarkets advanced overnight, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq reaching fresh intraday records. The Dow Jones added 0.5%, the S&P 500 gained 0.6%, and the Nasdaq rose 0.4%. Marvell Technology surged 5.8% after raising its 2028 revenue forecast, and AMD gained 2.8% on plans to increase chip supply for AI demand. Constellation Energy jumped 12.3% following a nuclear power agreement with Google.
European markets also moved higher, with the FTSEurofirst 300 gaining 0.5% and the UK FTSE 100 advancing 0.4%. Travel and leisure stocks led gains with a 1.4% rise, while banks added 1.1%. Major currencies strengthened against the US dollar as Treasury yields eased, with the euro rising 0.3% to US$1.1259 and the Australian dollar firming to US69.82 cents. Commodities saw mixed movements, with Brent crude futures settling 0.3% higher at US$100.58 a barrel, gold futures gaining 0.7% to US$4,187.10 an ounce, and iron ore easing 0.3% to US$91.18 a tonne.