The ASX 200 futures are pointing to a sharp 0.8% decline when Aussie shares start trading today, with the local bourse following a Wall Street plunge sparked by evaporating optimism among U.S. and global traders.
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State-side indices dived more than 2% – and the Dow Jones sagged to its worst Friday-to-Friday stretch since October – after inflation data and business surveys.
Europe wasn’t spared either, with the MSCI giving back 1.3% through to Friday’s close.
This red run could easily continue throughout Week 9 Down Under too depending on how the last of February’s reporting flood and Wednesday’s CPI report goes; that new consumer data should point to a year-on-year lift though.
As for reporting, we’re going to see as many as 170 companies squeeze in earnings results before February passes us by. That includes supermarket stalwarts Woolworths (ASX:WOW) and Coles (ASX:COL) as well as WiseTech Global (ASX:WTC), Qantas (ASX:QAN), Star Entertainment (ASX:SGR), and Endeavour (ASX:EDV).
Today: Ampol (ASX:ALD), Lovisa Holdings (ASX:LOV), NIB (ASX:NHF), and more.
Plumbing supplier Reece (ASX:REH) had an early start and has already reported it. It saw a 19% slide in interim profits, to $181 million, while revenue is down 3%.
Elsewhere, Rio Tinto (ASX:RIO) is reportedly considering issuing new shares to bump liquidity and “relieve tensions within its dual London Stock Exchange-ASX structure” – a move CEO Jakob Stausholm says is “entirely doable.”
Looking at forex, the Aussie dollar is buying 63.6 US cents.
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To commodities, we have a big date for everyone to circle: March 12. That’s when Trump’s aluminium and steel tariffs will come into effect.
Before that, here’s today’s prices – which are in the greenback,
Iron Ore has dropped 0.6% to $107.25 a tonne in Singapore,
Brent Crude is trading at $74.43,
Gold is trading just shy of that $3,000 mark at $2,967 per ounce, and,
US natgas futures are up again at $4.23 per gigajoule.
That’s Market Open, I’m Isaac McIntyre, stick with us for HotCopper’s Market Update.
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