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

Good morning everyone and welcome to Rise and Shine on Wednesday, July 16, 2025. Here’s what you should know before the ASX opens today…

At 7am AEST, ASX futures were down 0.6%, setting us up for a soggy Wednesday. Here’s what happened while we were sleeping…

Wall Street wobbles

Wall Street served up a mixed bag overnight.

The Dow dropped 1%, the S&P slipped 0.4%, but the Nasdaq gained 0.2% to a fresh record close thanks to Nvidia doing the heavy lifting yet again.

The AI chip king jumped 4% after getting the go-ahead from the Trump administration to resume chip sales to China, one of its biggest markets.

The approval helped tech names rally even as broader sectors sagged.

Elsewhere, SpaceX is reaching for a different kind of orbit, valuation.

Elon’s rocket shop is prepping an insider shares offering that would value it at around US$400 billion, up from US$185 per share late last year to US$212 now. That would make SpaceX the most valuable startup on the planet.

Back on Earth, US banks officially kicked off earnings season.

JPMorgan smashed it, thanks to big gains in trading and M&A. Citi popped too, with its best quarter since the pandemic, while Wells Fargo also beat the street.

US inflation back on the radar

US CPI is starting to rise again, and this time it’s got Trump’s fingerprints all over it.

June CPI rose 0.3% month-on-month and 2.7% year-on-year, its fastest pace in five months. Core CPI nudged to 2.9%.

The signs of tariff-driven pressure are bubbling up, especially in goods like furniture, apparel, and even coffee.

“More evident signs of passthrough from tariffs to goods inflation is the main story of the CPI report,” said TD Securities.

Bond markets noticed too. The 10-year Treasury yield jumped over 6 basis points to nearly 4.5%.

Rate cut bets for September are now just above 50%, and traders are scaling back expectations for multiple cuts this year.

Trump’s response? “Consumer Prices LOW. Bring down the Fed Rate, NOW!!!”, he posted on Truth Social.

Crypto Week collapses in Congress

Crypto stocks took a hit after the House of Representatives threw a spanner into what Trump dubbed “Crypto Week.”

Three big crypto regulation bills, including the hyped GENIUS Act, failed to clear a procedural vote, even after Trump told Republicans to fall in line.

Thirteen of them didn’t, joining Democrats to block the bills.

The GENIUS Act aimed to regulate stablecoins with tighter one-to-one backing and monthly audits.

It had already passed the Senate, but Republicans like Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene wanted more, specifically, a ban on Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs), which the current version didn’t include.

Trump, meanwhile, had been banging the crypto drum earlier that day: “Digital Assets are the FUTURE, and we are leading by a lot!”

Markets didn’t like the drama.

Coinbase fell over 4%, Circle dropped more than 7%, while Bitcoin itself fell 3%.

What to watch today

Back home, Rio Tinto (ASX:RIO), Evolution Mining (ASX:EVN) and Amplitude Energy (ASX:AEL) will all report quarterly results.

Globally, eyes are on tonight’s US Producer Price Index (PPI) print at 10.30pm AEST, which could either confirm or undercut the CPI story.

If it’s hot, expect more heat on the Fed. If it’s soft, well… markets might catch a break.

Commodity/forex/crypto market prices

What got you talking

Also in the news…

Shares in molecular diagnostic imaging house Imagion Biosystems (ASX:IBX) are on a roll again, after positive feedback from the US Food & Drug Administration (FDA) about the conduct of a phase II breast cancer diagnostics trial.

ASX rare earths explorers and developers have been buoyed by a US Government deal that could send prices through the roof.

TRADING HALTS

• Bowen Coking Coal (ASX:BCB) – potential voluntary administration
• Lumos Diagnostics (ASX:LDX) – pending announcement
• Macro Metals (ASX:M4M) – failure to lodge cleansing notices

At Stockhead, we tell it like it is. While Imagion Biosystems 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.