Market Highlights: McDonald's, Starbucks slump as gold nears $2,750; ASX to open higher

ASX expected to open higher after yesterday’s sell-off
WiseTech could be in spotlight again after more news revealed
VanEck says Aussies are growing interested in international stocks

The ASX is expected to open higher when the market resumes on Wednesday, bouncing back from yesterday’s 1.7% sell-off.

At 8am AEST, the SPI ASX200 futures contract was pointing up by 0.2%.

In the US, the S&P 500 and Dow Jones remained mostly unchanged, while the Nasdaq 100 saw a slight increase of 0.2%.

Stocks struggled toward the US close following disappointing news from several majors, as traders also contemplated the likelihood of a slower pace of Fed Reserve rate cuts.

Starbucks Corp fell 3.5% after withdrawing its guidance for 2025 following a third straight quarter of declining sales.

Texas Instruments Inc provided a cautious outlook for the current period, despite exceeding estimates.

McDonald’s Corp. slumped 7% after its Quarter Pounders were linked to an E. Coli outbreak in the western United States.

Among major stocks, Apple and Tesla each fell by around 0.5% each, but Microsoft gained 2%.

General Motors stood out, surging by 9% after reporting stronger-than-expected Q3 profits and revenue.

Elsewhere, gold prices touched fresh highs again after rising by 1%, marking a 31% increase for the year. Marcus Today analyst Henry Jennings described the situation in the bullion market as “extraordinary” and “very bullish”.

Meanwhile, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has pointed out that the US election is causing “high uncertainty” for markets and policymakers because the candidates have starkly different economic plans.

In its Global Financial Stability Report released last night, the IMF warned that this could lead to more market volatility, similar to the sharp sell-off we saw in August.

“But presidents don’t control markets,” said Callie Cox at Ritholtz Wealth Management. “Over time, the stock market’s common thread has been the economy and earnings, not who’s in the Oval Office.

Back home, all eyes will be on WiseTech Global (ASX:WTC) again after news broke about Richard White’s lengthy relationship with an employee and his generous gift of a luxury waterfront mansion valued at $7 million.

Aussies are keen on overseas stocks

New research from VanEck revealed that three out of four Australians plan to invest internationally in the coming year.

The VanEck Australian Investor Survey showed that international equities top the list of investment considerations, surpassing Australian equities for the first time.

A striking 77% of respondents intend to invest in international equity ETFs in the next 12 months, a 27% increase from last year.

Technology and healthcare emerged as the most popular sectors, with growing interest in tech and gold equities compared to previous years.

“The Australian investor profile is changing,” said Arian Neiron, CEO of VanEck Asia Pacific.

“Australians have historically demonstrated a home bias in their portfolios, despite the domestic market representing only a small portion of the opportunities available in the global investment universe.

“The increasing desire to include offshore exposure aligns with the rapid growth of ETFs in the Australian market which offer access to nearly every asset class and market around the world.”

Neiron further noted that the growth trajectory of the Australian ETF industry continues to accelerate with record-breaking flows to many of the leading funds.

“By the end of 2024, we expect the ETF market in Australia to reach $220 billion in real passive ETF funds under management (i.e. not including flows into unlisted funds).”

Now read Nadine McGrath’s Stockspot reveals 13 ETFs outperforming savings accounts in a higher rate era

In other markets …

All prices at 8.30am AEST.

Gold price lifted by 1% to US$2,748.61 an ounce.

Oil prices climbed by around 1.8%, with Brent crude now trading at US$75.57 a barrel.

The benchmark 10-year US Treasury yield climbed by 1 basis point (bond prices lower) to 4.21%.

The Aussie dollar rose 0.35% to US66.85 cents.

Bitcoin slipped by 0.6% in the last 24 hours to US$67,413, while Ethereum fell by 1.5% to US$2,631.

Iron ore, meanwhile, slipped by 1% to US$100.70 a tonne.

5 ASX small caps to watch today

Astral Resources (ASX:AAR)
Astral Resources has reported a significant gold intercept at Kamperman, revealing 3 metres at 177g/t Au from drill hole FRC378. The first 20 holes of a 31-hole drilling program have shown promising results, including 12 metres at 7.26g/t Au and 25 metres at 24.3g/t Au. Encouraging findings have prompted plans for diamond drilling to further explore the high-grade zone. Meanwhile, drilling at Mandilla is assessing dewatering needs for the Pre-Feasibility Study, with infill drilling ongoing at the Iris and Eos Deposits and an updated Mineral Resources Estimate expected in March 2025.

4D Medical (ASX:4DX)
4DX has been awarded $1.9 million in non-dilutive funding from the Federal Government’s Cooperative Research Centres Projects (CRC-P) program. This funding will help expand and speed up the company’s CT:VQ clinical trial program in partnership with I-MED and Macquarie University. The trials aim to provide the evidence needed for physicians to quickly replace traditional nuclear medicine VQ scans with 4DMedical’s CT:VQ, an advanced imaging technology. The company said this project is a significant step towards commercialisation.

Nordic Nickel (ASX:NNL)
NNL has reported excellent metallurgical results from its Hotinvaara nickel-cobalt deposit in Finland. A composite sample produced a clean concentrate of 18.4% nickel and 0.66% cobalt, with a nickel recovery of 62% using a straightforward grinding and flotation process. This indicates that the lower-grade nickel sulphides at Hotinvaara can be processed effectively to create a high-grade concentrate. The current resource estimate at Hotinvaara is 418 million tonnes at 0.21% nickel and 0.01% cobalt. The deposit has significant potential for growth, NNL said, as it covers just a small part of a much larger mineralised area.

PlaySide Studios (ASX:PLY)
Games maker Playside Studios provided guidance for FY25, expecting revenue between $62 million and $68 million, EBITDA of $0 million to $5 million, and a cash balance of $15 million to $20 million. The company will be focusing on major game launches, including MOUSE, a multiplayer title from Dumb Ways to Die, and a Game of Thrones strategy game, supported by a $37 million cash balance. It also plans to release four additional titles this half, including Thrive: Heavy Lies the Crown on November 7.

Alligator Energy (ASX:AGE)
Alligator has confirmed a uranium discovery at its Big Lake Uranium Project in South Australia, following its first drilling program. The results show uranium mineralisation within the Namba Formation’s palaeochannel sand units, proving that uranium is present in the Lake Eyre basin sediments above the Cooper Basin. Key assay results include intersections of up to 35 metres at 117 ppm U, validating earlier measurements. The company is planning further drilling in early 2025 after securing necessary approvals.

At Stockhead we tell it like it is. While Astral Resources is a Stockhead advertiser, it did not sponsor this article.