The ASX will steady and see a solid rebound at the start of trading today but gold stocks will be weak after prices fell in Tuesday’s rebound on Wall Street.
The overnight futures trading for the ASX 200 saw a gain of 41 points, pointing to a solid start locally this morning.
But after Comex gold futures dipped around $US10 an ounce and copper again sold off, shares in gold and copper miners will come under pressure today in Australia.
The big news locally today will be the December quarter inflation data at 11.30 am and then the appearance by Prime Minister Scott Morrison at the National Press Club from 12.30 pm.
After a sell-off in Asia and Australia yesterday, European markets steadied and ended with a small gain and then Wall Street made solid gains in a session that saw confidence recover.
That was despite more bad news from China with the death toll bow around 106 and 4,500 cases reported across the country.
But more bad news from China could easily spark a sell-off in Asian markets today with confidence levels fragile.
Comex Gold for February delivery fell $US7.60, or 0.5%, to settle at $US1,569.80 an ounce. Prices weakened further in early Asian trading on Wednesday.
Comex copper futures dipped to $US2.59 a pound and weakened further in Asian trading to be down around 1% on the day.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.6% (it was p more than 1% at one stage), to 28,722.85 while the S&P 500 index was up 34.4 points, or 1%, to 3,276. The Nasdaq Composite rose 130 points or 1.4%, to 9,269.
Oil futures steadied Tuesday with West Texas Intermediate crude for March delivery rising 67 cents, or 1.3%, to $US53.81 a barrel at settlement. Brent crude futures added 19 cents, or 0.3%, to settle at $US59.51 a barrel.
European stocks ended slightly higher after falling to seven-week lows on Monday, as concerns about the spreading coronavirus continue to rattle markets. After ending Monday with the biggest one-day drop in nearly four months, the Stoxx Europe 600 closed up 0.85% at 417.57.
Markets in Hong Kong and mainland China were closed Tuesday for the Lunar New Year holidays, while South Korea’s market tumbled 3.2% as it reopened after its own holidays.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 index lost 0.9%, while Australia’s S&P ASX/200 slipped 1.4%. Shares also fell in Taiwan, Jakarta, and Singapore.
