Rise and Shine: Everything you need to know before the ASX opens

Good morning everyone and welcome to Rise and Shine on Wednesday, May 28, 2025. Here’s what you should know before the ASX opens today…

The ASX is looking to open on the front foot on Wednesday, with ASX200 futures up a decent 0.6% at 7AM AEST.

Not a rocket launch, but enough to suggest investors might be feeling a little sunnier this morning.

Wall Street’s risk appetite returns

Overnight, Wall Street came back from the long weekend with a bit of pep in its step.

The S&P 500 leapt 2% in a late-session rally, while the Nasdaq 100 added 2.5%, powered by a combo of tariff détente and consumers rediscovering their confidence.

All 11 S&P sectors finished in the green, with tech and retail leading the charge.

This came as President Trump posted online that EU trade negotiators are suddenly keen to talk. The EU now has until July 9 to avoid a 50% tariff wall.

Meanwhile, US consumer confidence jumped sharply in May, a 12-point surge that suggests American households are looking past trade tantrums and starting to spend again.

Tesla rocketed up nearly 7%, Nvidia climbed 3%, and even Apple shook off its recent slump.

Gold drops the crown

Gold took a tumble, shedding 1.5% and slipping almost below US$3,300 an ounce.

That’s what happens when fear takes a back seat and the US dollar flexes its muscles.

With Trump’s tariff delay, investors ditched their safety blankets and sprinted back into equities.

Also adding pressure on bullion was a spike in the greenback, fuelled by that sky-high consumer sentiment print.

If you’re holding gold or gold stocks, it might be a bumpy day today.

Aussie CPI lands today

Back home, all eyes are on April’s Monthly CPI Indicator readout today.

Economists are tipping a slight cool-off, with the inflation rate expected to nudge down to 2.3% from 2.4%.

That would be the third month of calm (below 3%), suggesting those tariff jitters haven’t filtered down to local price tags yet.

The AUD/USD pair, meanwhile, took a breather after touching a six-month high. It’s now drifting back under 0.6500, with traders waiting on both the CPI and FOMC before picking a side.

A softer CPI print could be good for rate-sensitive stocks and keep the Aussie dollar in check.

And finally…

On the local radar, Goodman Group (ASX:GMG) will drop its quarterly numbers, while Web Travel Group (ASX:WEB) is up with its full-year report.

Fisher & Paykel Healthcare (ASX:FPH) and Infratil (ASX:IFT) are also due with annuals.

Meanwhile, at around 6:30pm AEST last night,Mineral Resources (ASX:MIN) quietly released an update on its Onslow iron project.  MinRes has shaved down its iron volume forecast to 7.8–8Mt (from 8.5–8.7Mt), thanks to a road train bottleneck.

But MinRes said it was still on track to hit that 35Mtpa target in Q1 FY26, just taking a few extra pit stops along the way.

And across the pond, the RBNZ is tipped to trim its cash rate by 25 basis points later today.

That could add more pressure on the Kiwi dollar, and send fresh signals on where regional central banks are heading next.

Commodity/forex/crypto market prices

What got you talking

Also in the news…

New World Resources’ (ASX:NWC) planned $185 million takeover by London-listed Central Asia Metals has been branded a ‘sensible deal’ and received a positive response from at least one large shareholder after the copper explorer plotted an exit via the acquisition.

Optiscan (ASX:OIL) and its Canadian tech partner Prolucid Technologies have advanced telepathology streaming software enabling a surgeon to seek the counsel of a remote pathologist during an operation.

In the barren drug development landscape, Amplia Therapeutics (ASX:ATX) is making strides with its candidate that works on the anti-fibrotic path to tackling the disease.

Trading halts

Agrimin (ASX:AMN) – cap raise
ALS (ASX:ALQ) – cap raise
Gold Mountain (ASX:GMN) – rights issue update
Loyal Lithium (ASX:LLI) – ASX query & proposed acquisition
MAC Copper (ASX:MAC) – potential control transaction
Prospech (ASX:PRS) – cap raise

At Stockhead, we tell it like it is. While New World Resources and Optiscan are Stockhead advertisers, they did not sponsor this article.

This article does not constitute financial product advice. You should consider obtaining independent advice before making any financial decisions.