ASX opens flat, Brickworks and Soul Patts shares soar
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More news: Australian shares traded roughly flat in early trading, as small gains by mining, telco and industrials stocks were offset by losses from consumer discretionary companies (-0.8%).
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index was down 0.06%, or 5 points, to 8,429.7 at 10:30am AEST, with six of the 11 sectoral indices in the red.
Shares in Brickworks (13.7%) and Soul Patts (6.8%) surged after the pair announced a proposed $14 billion merger.
Meanwhile, Clarity Pharmaceuticals (-4%) was the worst performing ASX 200 company, having climbed last week after reporting progress at a diagnostic trial.
Australian shares to edge higher ahead of key US economic data
The news: Australian shares are set to edge up at the open as investors digest last week's court rulings on US President Donald Trump's sweeping global tariffs, and ahead of a raft of economic data in Australia, the US and China.
The numbers: Updated at 7:30am AEDT:
- ASX futures: up 8 points or 0.09% at 8,465 points
- Wall Street: Dow Jones up 0.13%, S&P 500 up 0.01%, and Nasdaq down 0.32%
- Europe: CAC 40 down 0.36%, DAX up 0.27%, and FTSE 100 up 0.64%
- Spot gold: down 0.86% at USD3,289 per ounce
- Oil prices: Brent down 0.27% at USD62.61/bbl, and US WTI down 0.25% to USD60.79/bbl
- AUD: down 0.14% to 64.37 US cents
- Bitcoin: up 0.04% to USD105,048.
The context: US equities ended last week flat after traders digested new legal rulings relating to Trump's so-called "Liberation Day" tariffs.
On Friday, a US federal appeals court temporarily paused a ruling against Trump’s global tariffs, allowing the levies to remain in place while the court considers a longer stay.
Over the weekend, Trump announced a plan to increase tariffs on foreign imports of steel from 25% to 50%, which could see Australian producers hit.
Investors will also be looking ahead to the monthly US employment report on Friday to see how Trump's tariffs are impacting the world's largest economy.
What's ahead: This week, the Australian Bureau of Statistics will release monthly business indicators (Tuesday), GDP growth figures (Wednesday), and household spending data (Thursday).
The Reserve Bank will release the minutes from its May meeting on Tuesday.
Offshore, the US and China will publish monthly manufacturing PMI figures on Tuesday. The US will release its employment report for May on Friday.
The source: Reuters
