ASX opens flat as markets brace for last week of earnings season
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More news: Australian shares opened flat as markets head into the last week of reporting season.
The benchmark ASX 200 was up by 5.8 points, or 0.06%, to 9,087 at 10:25am AEDT. Three of the 11 sectoral indices opened in the green.
Miners (+0.75%) was the best performing sector, led by gains in Ramelius Resources (+3.10%), Genesis Minerals (+2.91%), Westgold Resources (+2.33%) and Mineral Resources (+2.28%).
Reece (+10.25%) was among the best performing stocks at the open despite reporting a 20% decrease in half-year statutory net profit.
IMDEX (+6.66%) rallied despite posting a 15% decline in first-half profit.
Fisher & Paykel (+3.83%) rose after hiking guidance for FY26 revenue.
Elsewhere, tech (-2.23%) was the worst performing sector across the ASX 200, led by a fall in Data#3 (-8.13%) despite posting a 3.6% lift in first-half net profit and lifting its interim dividend.
Perenti (-19.50%) slumped and was the worst performer despite seeing an 11% uplift in its first-half profit, while Austal (-5.47%) also fell after not declaring a dividend.
Australian shares to open higher as investors weigh fresh Trump tariff moves
The news: Australian shares are set to open higher after Wall Street indices closed higher on Friday, led by gains in Alphabet and Amazon after the US Supreme Court struck down global tariffs imposed by Donald Trump.
Trump later said he would introduce a 10% global tariff to replace many of the duties ruled illegal by the court.
The numbers: Updated at 7:45am AEDT:
- ASX futures: up 16 points to 9,046.
- Wall Street: Dow Jones up 0.47%, S&P 500 up 0.69% and the Nasdaq up 0.90%.
- Europe: CAC 40 up 1.39%, DAX up 0.87% and FTSE 100 up 0.56%.
- Spot gold: up 2.23% to USD5,109 per ounce.
- Oil prices: Brent up 0.14% to USD71.76/bbl and US WTI up 0.12% to USD66.48/bbl.
- AUD: up 0.43% at 70.86 US cents.
- Bitcoin: down 0.88% to USD67,386.
The context: All three major US indices closed higher on Friday as investors weighed easing inflation expectations against uncertainty about Donald Trump’s next moves on tariffs, supported by gains in heavyweight tech stocks. Alphabet and Amazon rose 4.01% and 2.56% respectively.
In a 6-3 decision, the US Supreme Court ruled that Trump had exceeded his authority by invoking the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) to impose global ‘reciprocal’ tariffs. The court did not require refunds for countries or businesses affected by the tariffs.
Trump criticised the ruling as “deeply disappointing” and later reinstated a 10% global tariff under Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974, which allows the president to impose import restrictions for up to 150 days.
Separately, data from the Commerce Department Bureau of Economic Analysis showed US economic growth slowed to 1.4% in the fourth quarter, below economists’ forecasts of 3%, according to Reuters.
Markets are pricing in about a 50% chance that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates at its June meeting, according to CME’s FedWatch.
Locally, Reece, Chorus, Nuix, NIB Holdings, Lendlease Group, Adairs, Data#3 and Ampol are scheduled to report their earnings today.
The sources: Reuters, Reuters, Capital Brief
