The Australian sharemarket is headed for a stronger morning after US stocks climbed for a third session overnight, taking the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones to fresh record highs.
ASX futures were up 41 points, or 0.5 per cent, to 8701, suggesting gains for the market when trading kicks off. The S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.5 per cent on Tuesday, despite a rally from BlueScope Steel after the steelmaker confirmed it had received a $13 billion takeover offer, as investors shifted out of the big four banks. The Australian dollar was up 0.4 per cent at US67.40¢ as of 7.53am AEDT.
Investors will be looking to the latest inflation figures at 11.30am AEDT for clues as to where interest rates are headed next. Economists predict consumer prices rose 3.7 per cent in November, a slight slowing from the 3.8 per cent inflation rate in October, according to Trading Economics. A higher reading would fuel speculation the Reserve Bank could raise rates as early as next month.
The US market has hit fresh alltime highs overnight.Credit: Bloomberg
On Wall Street overnight, US stocks continued their gains in the first full trading week of the year, led by advances in materials, industrials and financials as a market rotation into laggards gathered pace and catapulted the market toward a fresh all-time high.
The S&P 500 Index climbed 0.6 per cent to a fresh record. The Nasdaq 100 Index gained 0.7 per cent, while the old-economy Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 1 per cent, closing above 49,000 milestone for the first time.
“If there is a singular theme, it is rotation,” said Michael O’Rourke, chief market strategist at Jonestrading Institutional Services. “Overall, people want to be invested in this market, but they are looking to other industry groups that represent relative value in comparison to last year’s leaders and highfliers.”
However, big tech companies were still making some of the most notable moves. The gains mirrored much of the action from 2025, when the tech giants often drove the market to a series of records.
Amazon, which has reach into both retail and technology, surged 3.4 per cent. It is one of the most valuable companies in the world and its outsized stock valuation helped counter losses elsewhere in the market, including a 1.8 per cent loss from Apple.
Micron Technology rallied 10 cent, also helping to lift the market.
