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Australian shares are headed for a sturdy open as Wall Street is on track to close at record highs.
Market snapshot at 7:30am AEDT:
- ASX SPI 200 futures +0.2pc at 5,839, ASX 200 (Monday's close) +0.6pc at 5,847
- AUD: 78.50 US cents, 66.55 Euro cents, 58.23 British pence, 88.06 Japanese yen, $NZ1.09
- US: Dow Jones +0.4pc at 22,957, S&P500 +0.2pc at 2,558, Nasdaq +0.3 pc at 6,624
- Europe: FTSE -0.1pc at 7,527, DAX +0.1pc at 13,004, Euro Stoxx +0.1pc at 3,606
- Commodities: Brent crude +1.2pc at $US57.87/barrel, spot gold -0.8pc at $US1,294/ounce, iron ore +0.7pc at $US62.4/tonne
What happened on Wall Street?
The biggest boosts to the US stock market came from the financials index, which recovered after four days of losses last week.
Technology was one of the best performing sectors, after Apple's shares rose 1.8 per cent thanks to a bullish brokerage call.
KeyBanc Capital Markets upgraded Apple's stock to overweight, and predicted the company will post stronger-than-expected earnings next year.
This is the second week of earnings season in the US, and 55 S&P 500 companies are expected to post their third-quarter results. Some of them include Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and Verizon.
After the closing bell, Netflix posted better-than-expected third-quarter earnings and subscriber growth. This lifted the stock by 1.6 per cent to its all-time record.
Healthcare stocks were the biggest drag on the US market, weighed down by a 2 per cent drop in Bristol-Myers Squibb.
US President Donald Trump was optimistic on Monday that Congress would craft a short-term fix for healthcare insurance markets — after he scrapped Obamacare subsidies to insurers last week.
Mr Trump did not provide much detail about the plan to reporters at the start of a meeting with his Cabinet.
"I think we'll have a short-term fix and then we'll have a long-term fix, and that will take place probably in March or April," he said.
The three major indexes have surged by at least 17 per cent since the start of the year, so investors' earnings expectations are high.
Australian market
In local economic news, the Reserve Bank will release the minutes of its meeting from earlier this month.
"They should show the RBA remains optimistic — but there won't likely be enough changes to provide much momentum for the Australian dollar," ANZ Bank said in a research report.
The Australian dollar has fallen by half a percent to 78.5 US cents, as the Greenback has strengthened against all G10 currencies.
Brent crude prices surged overnight (+1.2pc). This follows Iraqi forces clashing with Kurdish forces in the northern city of Kirkuk, Iraq — raising concerns about supply from OPEC's second largest producer.
The rise in oil prices is expected to have a positive flow-on effect for Australia's energy stocks.
The nation's mining sector, particularly BHP and Rio Tinto, may also benefit from the lift in iron ore prices overnight (+0.7 pc).
Topics: company-news, economic-trends, stockmarket, currency, australia
First posted