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

Good morning everyone and welcome to Rise and Shine on Wednesday, July 2, 2025. Here’s what you should know before the ASX opens today…

At 7am AEST on Wednesday, ASX futures were pointing up by 0.2%, enough to suggest we might have a strong start to the day.

Wall Street wobbles

Wall Street didn’t exactly set the place on fire overnight, but the Dow did its bit with a 0.9% climb, while the S&P dipped 0.1% and the Nasdaq lagged behind by 0.8%.

Blame part of that on Tesla, which nosedived 5% after Donald Trump went full WWE on Elon Musk, threatening to tear up subsidies and send the tech titan packing.

Small caps also found some love – the Russell 2000 outpaced the Nasdaq 100 by the widest margin since April, as traders shifted from megacaps.

Meanwhile, the US Senate scraped through Trump’s US$3.3 trillion tax and spending megabill – 50-50, with VP JD Vance breaking the tie.

It’s heading back to the House for a rinse and repeat. Tucked in the bill were sweeteners for fossil fuels, a slap for clean energy, and a few loose ends for healthcare providers.

Trump vs Elon Part 2

Trump took aim at Elon Musk on Truth Social, accusing him of being the “most subsidised human in history” and threatening to sic the DOGE (Department of Government Efficiency) on him.

“If DOGE looks at Musk, we’re going to save a fortune,” Trump growled, saying the Tesla boss could “head back home to South Africa” if his government lifeline were cut.

This didn’t sit well with investors or the Tesla share price, which tanked over 5%.

Elon clapped back on X: “I am literally saying CUT IT ALL” – referring to his call for all government subsidies, including the ones that benefit his own companies, to be scrapped entirely.

Is the AI party over already?

Elsewhere, some are starting to ask whether we’ve reached peak AI euphoria.

Short-seller Jim Chanos reckons the current AI craze is starting to rhyme a little too much with the 1990s tech boom, and bust.

There’s also been a flurry of insider selling at Nvidia.

More than $500 million worth of shares were offloaded in June, with CEO Jensen Huang cashing out under a preset plan.

Sure, Huang still holds a boatload of stock, and Nvidia remains the market’s MVP, but when the top brass starts trimming, eyebrows go up.

Gold’s on the up again

With Trump tossing tariff grenades and the US dollar wobbling, gold found its groove.

The yellow metal climbed 1% overnight, bouncing off a weekly high.

Safe-haven demand is back in fashion, with trade fears, debt worries, and rate-cut bets all lighting up the bullion market.

Rhona O’Connell at StoneX put it simply: “Bargain hunting, dollar weakness and continued uncertainty.”

In other words, a textbook cocktail for gold bulls.

And finally…

Back home, attention turns to May retail sales and building approvals from the ABS, dropping at 11:30am AEST.

NAB tips a 0.6% lift in sales, a decent bounce after April’s 0.1% dip.

CBA is calling for a 0.5% rise.

There’s hope that consumers are loosening the purse strings, it said, especially with inflation softening and rate cuts now peeking over the horizon.

Commodity/forex/crypto market prices

What got you talking

Also in the news…

Dr Boreham’s Crucible: ‘Better not louder’, Audeara is tuned in to the global audiology market.

Health Check: And the EOFY biotech winner is … gasp … a pot stock.

TRADING HALTS

Alphinity Global Equity Fund (ASX:XALG) – technical issue
Alphinity Global Sustainable Equity Fund (ASX:XASG) – technical issue
Australian Oil Company (ASX:AOK) – settlement deed
Butn Ltd (ASX:BTN) – debt refinancing
Falcon Metals (ASX:FAL) – exploration results
Finder Energy Holdings (ASX:FDR) – cap raise
Resources & Energy Group (ASX:REZ) – cap raise
Santa Fe Minerals (ASX:SFM) – cap raise
Yojee Ltd (ASX:YOJ) – cap raise

At Stockhead, we tell it like it is. While First Lithium and Audeara 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.