Australian shares to edge higher as Wall St records strongest quarter since 2020
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The news: The Australian sharemarket is set to open modestly higher after Wall Street ended June with its strongest quarterly gains since 2020, as investors remained optimistic about corporate earnings despite the ongoing Middle East conflict.
The numbers: Updated at 7:48am AEST:
- ASX futures: up 8 points to 8,784 points
- Wall Street: Dow Jones up 0.26%, S&P 500 up 0.79%, Nasdaq up 1.52%
- Europe: FTSE 100 up 0.12%, CAC 40 up 0.44%, DAX up 1.50%
- Spot gold: up 0.21% to USD4,007 per ounce
- Oil prices: Brent down 1.23% to USD73.00/barrel, US WTI down 1.15% to USD69.93/bbl
- AUD: up 0.44% at 69.16 US cents
- Bitcoin: down 2.72% to USD58,510.
The context: The major US indices posted their strongest quarterly gains in years, according to WSJ. The S&P 500 rose 15% in the three months to Tuesday, while the Nasdaq surged 21%, marking the biggest quarterly rallies since the second quarter of 2020.
The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index climbed 3.9% on Tuesday, taking its second-quarter gain to 88%, its strongest quarter on record, according to Bloomberg. The index has risen 101% in the first half of the year and is on track for its best annual performance.
Analysts have become increasingly bullish on US chipmakers, with Bloomberg Intelligence data showing earnings are now expected to grow 49% in 2027, up from forecast of 35% in April. Revenue growth expectations have also been revised higher to 37% from 29%, the data shows.
Elsewhere, oil prices declined after Trump said on Monday the US would meet with Iran in Qatar on Tuesday (ET). However, an Iranian official said Tehran had not yet decided on the timing of the talks.
Locally, the Australian Bureau of Statistics will release May building approvals data at 11:30am AEST.
