ASX opens lower, BlueScope soars on SGH, Steel Dynamics bid
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More news: Australian shares opened marginally lower, diverging from Wall Street where indices were led higher by the Dow Jones hitting an all-time record and a rally in energy stocks following a US military strike that captured deposed Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro.
The benchmark ASX 200 index was down 3.3 points, or 0.04% to 8,725 at 10:46am AEDT. Nine of the 11 sectorial indices opened in the red.
Materials (+1.22%) was the top performing sector after Seven Group Holdings (SGH) confirmed it had launched a bid with Nasdaq-listed Steel Dynamics to acquire 100% of BlueScope Steel (+18.53%).
Meanwhile, consumer staples was the worst performing sector, dragged down by Murray Cod (-4.65%), Cobram Estate Olives (-2.84%) and Bega Cheese (-1.34%).
Elsewhere, commodities remained in focus after copper touched USD13,000 ($19,365) a tonne for the first time, alongside rallies in safe-haven gold and Brent crude.
Australian shares to open higher as Dow hits record high
The news: Australian shares are set to open higher after Wall Street notched record highs overnight as investors snapped up megacap stocks. Energy shares and Brent crude were also seen rallying after Donald Trump floated plans for a US-led revival of Venezuela’s oil sector.
The numbers: Updated at 7:44am AEDT:
- ASX futures: up 19 points, or 0.21% to 8,764.
- Wall Street: Dow Jones up 1.36%, S&P 500 up 0.69% and Nasdaq down 1.04%.
- Europe: CAC 40 up 0.20%, DAX up 1.34% and FTSE 100 up 0.54%.
- Spot gold: up 2.52% to USD4,441 per ounce.
- Oil prices: Brent up 1.64% to USD61.74/bbl and US WTI up 1.75% to USD58.31/bbl.
- AUD: up 0.33% at 67.15 US cents.
- Bitcoin: up 3.07% to USD94,200.
The context: Wall Street indices climbed overnight, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average hitting an all-time peak at the close driven by a surge in financial shares, while energy stocks and US weapons manufacturers rallied following the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro over the weekend.
Commodities were among the most affected sectors, with Brent crude and other US oil firms rising as traders weighed political developments in Venezuela. Gold also attracted safe-haven demand with prices rising 3%, while silver gained 5%.
Elsewhere, US manufacturing activity slumped to a 14-month low of 47.9 in December, as the sector continued to bear the brunt of Donald Trump’s import tariffs.
The focus will now turn to the US monthly nonfarm payrolls data due on Friday New York time, which could influence the Federal Reserve's monetary policy in 2026.
