ASX to open lower despite S&P 500 and Dow Jones touching new highs. Picture Getty
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Aussie shares are poised to open lower on Tuesday despite US stocks extending their rally. At 8am AEDT, the ASX 200 index futures contract was pointing down by -0.2%.
Overnight, the S&P 500 reached a new record once again, up by +0.22% to 4,850.
The blue chips Dow Jones index is now also at a record high after rising by +0.36% to 38,001, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq lifted by +0.32%.
Oil prices surged by almost 2% with Brent crude closing in on US$80 at US$79.78 a barrel, after Ukraine reportedly attacked a major Russia fuel terminal, raising fresh concerns about supply disruptions.
To stocks, Goldman Sachs shares also hit a 52-week high after rising 1% on no news.
Chipmaker Nvdia touched all-time high intraday, while Meta also touched record levels before retreating -0.45%.
Alphabet (or Google) fell slightly after Bloomberg reported it would make cuts at its division, X, which invests in moonshot projects.
Tesla meanwhile retreated by -1.6% after Morgan Stanley cut its target price from $US380 to $US345.
As records tumbled in the past couple of sessions, an expert has issued this warning for investors.
“With the S&P 500 topping 4,800 for the first time in its 66-year history, it’s all-too-easy for investors to become overly confident and complacent,” said de Vere Group‘s CEO, Nigel Green.
“I would suggest that they need to exercise caution and avoid unnecessary mistakes due to said complacency which could, unfortunately, prove to be extremely costly.”
Green said there are two key takeaways from this record high.
“First, markets are getting ahead of themselves. Much of the frenzy is being driven by hype that the Federal Reserve is about to start cutting rates after the most aggressive tightening agenda in generations.
“While this may be the case, it cannot be stressed enough that although inflation is certainly down from the multi-decade highs, it remains sticky.
“Is there really enough evidence for the Fed to pivot? The jury’s out.
“Second, tech stocks are driving early year gains.
“For me, this is further proof that investing in technology stocks, particularly those related to artificial intelligence (AI), has become imperative for investors aspiring to build long-term wealth.
Gold price fell by -0.4% to US$2,020.58 an ounce.
Oil prices surged +1.7%, with Brent now trading at US$78.78 a barrel.
The benchmark 10-year US Treasury yield fell 4 basis points (bond prices higher) to 4.10%.
Iron ore futures fell -0.8% to US$128.85 a tonne.
The Aussie dollar fell by -0.45% to US65.71c.
Meanwhile, Bitcoin was down -4% in the last 24 hours to US$40,080.
Cobre (ASX:CBE)
Cobre has been selected to participate in the 2024 BHP (ASX:BHP) Xplor cohort, which will assist in its advancement of exploration plans on its Kalahari Copper Belt projects, Botswana. BHP will provide Cobre with US$500k in non-dilutive funding to accelerate the exploration plans during the Xplor Program period; as well as full access to BHP’s deep expertise and global partnerships.
Southern Cross Gold (ASX:SXG)
SXG announced a maiden Exploration Target at its flagship 100%-owned Sunday Creek Project in Victoria. The Exploration Target has been developed to demonstrate the scale and high-grade gold-antimony potential of Sunday Creek that has been drilled over the last year. The estimated range of potential mineralisation for the Exploration Target is: 4.4-5.1 million tonnes grading at 7.2g/t AuEq to 9.7g/t AuEq, for 1.0Moz AuEq to 1.6Moz AuEq. This potential quantity and grade is conceptual in nature, and therefore is an approximation.
LCL Resources (ASX:LCL)
LCL provided an update on ongoing exploration work at the company’s 100% owned PNG Nickel Project. Additional VTEM data reprocessing has now identified high priority geophysical anomalies at Iyewe and between Veri Veri and Iyewe, with the latter associated with a new discovery of nickel sulphides. The field team has completed a 180m long trench across the Veri Veri nickel sulphide shear corridor target with assay results expected in February.
Galileo Mining (ASX:GAL)
Geophysical induced polarisation (IP) survey field preparation has commenced, with survey crew scheduled to arrive in early February. Immediate priority is to target the North Callisto sulphide trend, just three kilometres along strike from the Callisto deposit. Field mapping, environmental surveys, and heritage surveys are also planned for February/March in preparation for extensive 2024 drilling programs.
Cooper Energy (ASX:COE)
Q2 FY24 production and revenue: production up 3% from previous quarter to 61.7 TJe/d, revenue up 8% to $55 million from previous quarter. GSA extension agreed with EnergyAustralia to supply 5 PJ/year for three years commencing January 2026. Cooper says it remains well funded from existing cash balances, positive operating cashflow generation and a $400 million committed senior secured debt facility.
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