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

Good morning everyone and welcome to Rise and Shine on Wednesday, June 4, 2025. Here’s what you should know before the ASX opens today…

ASX futures were pointing up 0.25% at 7AM AEST, teeing up a solid open for local markets thanks to a buoyant overnight session on Wall Street.

What happened on Wall Street?

The Dow rose 0.5%, the Nasdaq popped 0.8%, and the S&P 500 was up 0.58%, and is now just a whisper (3%) from its record high.

The big driver overnight was US job openings, which came in stronger than expected, soothing fears that Trump’s tariff  was choking the economy.

Data showed that US job openings actually rose in April, up to 7.4 million, when most punters thought they’d drift lower.

This keeps Fed rate cut hopes simmering, which is a sweet spot for equities, especially tech and risk names.

Nvidia added another 3% and is now within striking distance of overtaking Microsoft as the world’s most valuable company.

Broadcom joined the fun too, hitting fresh record highs after launching new AI-boosting networking chips.

Meanwhile, trading platform Robinhood surged 5% to a record high, four years after its IPO fizzled.

Nvidia’s trillion-dollar charge

Let’s take a moment to appreciate the monster that is Nvidia.

Since bouncing off its April low, the AI chip king has tacked on US$1 trillion in market cap. That’s more than the entire Aussie sharemarket added over the same period.

Now sitting at a mind-bending $3.45 trillion, Nvidia is within spitting distance of overtaking Microsoft as the planet’s most valuable company.

And it’s doing this despite the billions in revenue it’s lost to the US export bans on China.

CEO Jensen Huang reckons Washington, under both Biden and Trump, is botching it by cutting China off from advanced AI chips, calling it a “policy failure.”

But as trade analyst Dewardric McNeal puts it: Nvidia’s learning the same hard lesson that Apple, Tesla, and Nike already copped – that when it comes to US policy, national security trumps your China profits, every time.

Trump ramps up the trade noise while Musk flames out

Trump’s back on the tariff trail, officially signing a directive to double duties on steel and aluminium from 25% to 50%.

The move comes as the White House tries to strongarm trading partners ahead of a July 9 deadline.

And while courts have clipped some of Trump’strade wings, these metal tariffs are still flying high.

Meanwhile, Elon Musk called the GOP’s spending bill a “disgusting abomination”, warning of a $2.5 trillion deficit.

Australia’s GDP lands today

At 11.30am AEST, we’ll get the first read on Aussie GDP for the March quarter.

The OECD has already trimmed its outlook for 2025 to a paltry 1.8%, citing everything from housing supply to climate inertia.

It wants the government to get cracking on zoning, tax reform, and investment in green infrastructure, not exactly fast fixes.

While today’s number may come in soft, the market has probably largely priced that in.

The bigger worry, according to experts, is whether Australia can spark stronger growth without relying too heavily on rate cuts, immigration, or coal exports.

Commodity/forex/crypto market prices

What got you talking

Also in the news…

Check out the standout resources stocks from yesterday with our Resources Top 5, headlined by Eclipse Metals (ASX:EPM) which fielded an 89Mt inferred resource at 6363ppm total rare earth oxides.

The ASX biotech sector dipped slightly in value in May, but stocks such as Medadvisor (ASX:MDR) and Dimerix (ASX:DXB) recorded outsized gains. Check out Tim Boreham’s Health Check for more.

Finally, check out who topped the ASX boards in May in our ASX May Winners coverage.

Trading halts

Brazilian Critical Minerals (ASX:BCM) – cap raise
Caprice Resources (ASX:CPR) – cap raise
Lanthanein Resources (ASX:LNR) – cap raise
PointsBet Holdings (ASX:PBH) – update on MIXI takeover

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