Australian shares to lift as trade talks near, US jobs surprise
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The news: Australian shares are poised to open higher after each of the major US indices notched gains overnight, led by chip makers Nvidia and Broadcom.
US equities climbed after new data showed an unexpected rise in monthly job openings and as the prospect of global trade talks draws closer.
The numbers: Updated at 7:30am AEDT:
- ASX futures: up 23 points or 0.27% at 8,507 points
- Wall Street: Dow Jones up 0.51%, S&P 500 up 0.58%, and Nasdaq up 0.81%
- Europe: CAC 40 up 0.34%, DAX up 0.67%, and FTSE 100 up 0.15%
- Spot gold: flat at USD3,353 per ounce
- Oil prices: Brent flat at USD65.58/bbl, and US WTI up 1.31% to USD63.34/bbl
- AUD: down 0.41% to 64.66 US cents
- Bitcoin: down 0.1% to USD105,703.
The context: Traders are awaiting the outcomes of impending trade negotiations between the US and its partners, with US President Donald Trump and China's leader Xi Jinping set to speak this week.
Meanwhile, Trump signed a directive that will raise steel and aluminium tariffs from 25% to 50%, a move he flagged Saturday.
Broadcom (3.3%) reached a new record high after the semiconductor company announced the start of shipments of its latest chips, while its larger competitor Nvidia (2.8%) also rallied.
What's ahead: The Australian Bureau of Statistics will release quarterly national accounts for the March quarter, after the previous period saw GDP rise 1.6% in nominal terms.
