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

Good morning everyone and welcome to Rise and Shine on Friday, September 19, 2025. Here’s what you should know before the ASX opens today…

At 7am AEST Friday, ASX futures were up 0.5%, pointing to a decent lift when the market opens.

Here’s what went down last night while you were dreaming…

Wall Street smashes records

European and US stocks surged overnight.  And on Wall Street, another night, another record binge.

The Dow scraped out 0.3%, the S&P 500 notched 0.5%, and the Nasdaq ripped 0.9% – all at fresh highs.

Even the Russell 2000, the US small-cap main index, finally muscled its way into the spotlight with a record close.

But the real show was Nvidia tipping US$5 billion into Intel shares.

For a decade, Intel’s been the cautionary tale of what happens when you miss a tech cycle. Now it’s being rescued by the very firm that ate its lunch.

Intel stock spiked 23%, Nvidia climbed 3.5% just for reminding the market it can dictate the narrative.

Bullish, the Peter Thiel-backed crypto exchange, has swung from a nine-figure loss this time last year to more than US$100 million in the black, thanks to crypto turnover that ballooned 35% in the quarter.

Investors piled in, sending the stock up 21% after the company also waved around a fresh BitLicense from New York.

Meanwhile, US jobless claims fell the most in four years, which sounds reassuring until you remember labour data always lags.

Cryptos rally

Bitcoin pushed above US$117,000 overnight, dragging Ethereum past US$4,600.

The Fed cut was all the excuse punters needed to crank the crypto jukebox again.

The SEC also loosened the ETF choke chain, fast-tracking approvals and effectively telling altcoins: “help yourself to the buffet.”

The regulator has basically just made it easier for crypto ETFs to get rubber-stamped, no more long delays, just automatic approvals if the paperwork’s in order.

Nuclear: from pariah to prom queen

Bank of America just slapped a $10 trillion tag on nuclear, calling it “rediscovered” thanks to AI, EVs, and data centres chewing through electricity.

For decades, nuclear was the industry that smelled like Chernobyl fallout – too messy, too political, too radioactive for fund managers to touch.

But now everyone is suddenly an SMR (small modular reactor) expert, and US stocks like NuScale and Oklo are up triple digits this year.

Commodity/forex/crypto market prices

What got you talking

Also in the news…

At Resources Rising Stars, Develop Global (ASX:DVP), Uvre (ASX:UVA) and Gorilla Gold Mines (ASX:GG8) are turning heads with veteran teams backing fresh commodity plays.

Nero Resource Fund’s Daniel Harangozo backs gold, gas and tin, taking a contrarian swing at mispriced small caps.

Hillgrove Resources (ASX:HGO) has struck high-grade copper-gold at Emily Star, boosting expansion potential at Kanmantoo as Nugent edges toward first production.

Trading halts

Environmental Clean Technologies (ASX:ECT) – material acquisition and cap raise
Lunnon Metals (ASX:LM8) – deal on Lady Herial deposit processing
Memphasys (ASX:MEM) – cap raise
Omega Oil & Gas (ASX:OMA) – cap raise
QEM Limited (ASX:QEM) – testwork results pending
Swift Networks Group (ASX:SW1) – agreement with material customer

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