• ASX is set to open lower after a fall on Wall Street
  • Euro inflation is at the highest level ever
  • Australia Q1 GDP data ahead

Aussie shares are set to fall marginally at the opening bell, after Wall Street stumbled following a three-day long weekend.

Overnight, the Dow fell by 0.7%, the S&P 500 by 0.6%, and tech heavy Nasdaq by 0.4%.

European sharemarkets advanced despite EU inflation hitting a record 8.1% in May, the highest ever since the Euro’s creation in 1999.

Energy prices increased by 40%, while food and tobacco also rose by 7.5% for the 19 countries that use the EUR currency.

“Europe’s position is more complicated as it is effectively moving into a wartime economy for some time to come,” commented Oanda senior market analyst, Jeff Halley.

“Some are already talking about the ECB hiking by 0.50% in July now, these are strange times we live in,” he said.

Meanwhile, EU members have agreed to block 75% of Russian oil imports to the bloc immediately, and by as much as 90% by the end of the year.

Brent crude however fell to US$116 a barrel, after rising to as high as US$121 yesterday.

“The price action of oil this past week has been ominous, suggesting that supplies of refined products is getting worse, and not better,” said Halley.

“The EU oil ban on Russia further complicates that picture and I am wondering how long markets can continue bottom-fishing elsewhere while ignoring oil’s price rise.”

Back home, the ABS will release the first-quarter GDP data at 11.30am AEST.

Economists at the ANZ are expecting a big lift in the data.


 

5 ASX small caps to watch today

Eden Innovations (ASX:EDE)
EdenCrete is now being sold at Lowe’s, one of the largest home improvement retailers in the world. The product is currently available at select Lowe’s locations in Oregon, and will soon be available nationwide on Lowes.com. EdenCrete is a carbon nanotube-enriched liquid admixture that elevates concrete structures to new levels of strength and toughness.

Castillo Copper (ASX:CCZ)
Castillo reported that its maiden Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) for the BHA Project’s East Zone is: 64Mt @ 318 ppm Co for 21,556t contained metal at relatively shallow depths (2-80m). In addition, the global MRE includes 44,260t of contained copper([email protected]%Cu).

Aguia Resources (ASX:AGR)
Agronomic tests on corn crops using Aguia’s natural phosphate fertiliser Pampafos continues to demonstrate agronomic efficiency across all major commercial crops. Pampafos applied to the corn crop resulted in a yield of 95% of the yield achieved by using the conventional Triple Superphosphate (TSP) in the same P2O5 dosage.

Pointsbet Holdings (ASX:PBT)
Manjit Gombra Singh, who joined the company as president (Product and Technology) in 2019, will transition to a non-executive director effective today. Dr Jerry Bowskill will join the company as group chief technology Office, replacing Gombra Singh.

Osprey Medical (ASX:OSP)
Osprey says it is restructuring its business to honour customer, employee and supplier commitments. The company is working with creditors and other stakeholders to reduce the company’s debt and gain access to new sources of liquidity. The company expects that its shares will remain suspended from trading until at least completion of the business restructure.