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

Good morning everyone and welcome to Rise and Shine on Monday, June 23, 2025. Here’s what you should know before the ASX opens today…

After an eventful weekend in the global geopolitical landscape, to say the least, the ASX is set to open lower on Monday, with futures pointing down by 0.2%.

Wall Street limps

On Friday, the S&P 500 slipped 0.22%, the Nasdaq fell by 0.51%, and the Dow managed a measly 0.08% rise.

Google’s parent Alphabet was the poster child for pain, tumbling 3.5% on Friday after Turkey joined the EU in ganging up on the tech giant over antitrust violations.

To rub salt in the wound, an adviser to Europe’s top court backed a €4.3 billion fine, and Google’s been scrambling to tweak its search results ever since.

Meanwhile, US chip stocks fell like dominos. A new Wall Street Journal report said the US wants to yank key tech waivers from global chipmakers operating in China.

Nvidia slipped 1.1%, while Applied Materials lost around 2%.

But the biggest surprise came from Fed governor Chris Waller, who casually floated a July rate cut.

His comments pushed up expectations, only for Richmond Fed’s Thomas Barkin to come in and say “nah, not yet.”

Classic mixed messaging from the Fed.

Amercia strikes Iran

Trump has dropped bombs. Literally.

In a Saturday post on Truth Social that read like it was written mid-adrenaline rush, Trump confirmed a “very successful” US airstrike on three Iranian nuclear sites – in Fordow, Natanz, and Esfahan.

“All planes are safely on their way home,” he wrote. “NOW IS THE TIME FOR PEACE.”

Oil markets, surprisingly, didn’t panic.

Brent hovered near US$77 a barrel, while WTI sat just over $74, both up about 3% for the week.

Citi reckons that unless Iran’s oil exports are totally choked, Brent prices won’t go much higher than $78. ING disagrees, they say if this escalates, Brent could smash through $120.

Crypto traders await the GENIUS Act

Bitcoin spiked above US$106K at one point on Friday after Waller’s tease, but just as quickly retreated back to $102K.

But crypto investors had something to cheer.

The GENIUS Act, a bill that would create US national rules for stablecoins, has quickly passed through the US Senate.

Circle, the firm behind USDC, surged 77% for the week. It’s now up over 7x since its IPO on June 5.

And finally…

Closer to home, today’s agenda kicks off with S&P Global’s PMI figures, a decent health check on manufacturing and services.

But the real battleground is Wednesday’s Aussie CPI.

The April print was 2.4%, and CBA reckons we’ll see that drop to 2.3%. That would sneak us closer to the RBA’s 2–3% sweet spot, and maybe re-ignite talk of rate cuts before the year’s out.

For now, though, it’s a market on edge. Between flying bombs and wobbling chips, investors are clutching at anything that looks like clarity.

Commodity/forex/crypto market prices

What got you talking

Also in the news…

Tony Locantro looks into Raiz Invest and a customer base which is growing in more ways than one.

Lithium dreams continue to grow in the US with oil giant Chevron snagging acreage in the lithium brine rich Smackover formation in the US.

Monsters of Rock: The shape of the lithium recovery, plus copper investments ramp up Down Under

TRADING HALTS

AIC Mines (ASX:A1M) – cap raise
betr Entertainment (ASX:BBT) – off-market takeover offer for PointsBet
GBM Resources (ASX:GBZ) – cap raise and board changes
Great Boulder Resources (ASX:GBR) – cap raise
New Murchison Gold (ASX:NMG) – Crown Prince project approvals update
Victory Metals (ASX:VTM) – strategic alliance and funding facility
Zenith Minerals (ASX:ZNC) – resource update for Dulcie Far North Gold Project

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

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