Many ASX traders seem to be more than a little stunned by us hitting 9,000 points yesterday, with many seeming to be avoiding making moves on the market in general as we head into the end of Week 34 trading.
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The ASX 200 is currently holding just above 9,000 points in futures, up +0.07%, as investors figure out whether they want to ride the wave or pull profits.
There’s an element of the nervousness coming from the U.S.’s impending Jackson Hole meeting tomorrow, too, but as my colleague Jonathon Davidson wisely pointed out on the HotCopper Wire podcast’s latest episode, that moot holds more wine-and-dine value for journalists than general markets.
It’s interesting to look back at July 2024, when the Oz bourse hit a record 8,000 points – so long ago – and how it tracked: Traders moved similarly, pausing for several days, before profit-taking became the agenda.
That may well happen all over again, but it will be a W35 problem if it does; today, the bourse may eventually choose to track Wall Street’s red day.
Or, London’s FTSE may hold some positive hope: It’s been up around +0.2%.
Companies to watch
Either way, earnings roll on Down Under, and we have several interesting ones coming like Guzman Y Gomez (ASX:GYG), Helia (ASX:HLI), and Zip Co (ASX:ZIP).
Also in company news, Commonwealth Bank (ASX:CBA) has quickly hit reverse on its leading AI voicebot plans, where it would have cut 45 call centre jobs, after union pressure and a Fair Work Commission challenge.
New Zealand-listed Fonterra (NZE:FCG) has agreed to sell its consumer businesses to French group Lactalis. The deal includes Western Star, Mainland, and Perfect Italiano. Fonterra will make as much as $3.9 billion.
Some brokers have today dubbed CSL Ltd (ASX:CSL) and James Hardie (ASX:JHX) as “buy” opportunities after their W34 bloodbaths, too.
Buck and ore
In forex, the flagging Aussie dollar buys 64.2 US cents.
To commodities, all in the greenback and largely up heading into the weekend,
Iron Ore has gained +0.5% to sell at $101.25 a tonne in Singapore,
Brent Crude is at $67.55,
Gold is at $3,344 per ounce, and,
US natgas futures advanced +2%, to sell at $2.80 per gigajoule.
That’s HotCopper’s Market Open, I’m Isaac McIntyre – good luck and happy trading.
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