ASX futures had risen 23 points or 0.3% as of 6:00am on Tuesday, indicating a higher open.
US stocks wobbled between small gains and losses in another quiet session Monday, while investors awaited a flood of corporate earnings reports and further clarity on the path of interest rates.
The S&P 500 rose 0.1%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.2% and the Nasdaq Composite slipped 0.3%.
Markets have turned quiet after last month's abrupt collapse of Silicon Valley Bank spurred worries about the health of the financial system. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite have moved by less than 1% for two weeks in a row. Wall Street's fear gauge, the Cboe Volatility Index, has fallen as well.
Investors are turning their focus this week to Big Tech earnings. Amazon.com, Microsoft, Google parent Alphabet, Facebook parent Meta Platforms and Intel are among the companies scheduled to report in the coming days. Analysts expect profits to decline from a year ago at all but Amazon, according to estimates compiled by FactSet.
In commodity markets, Brent crude oil added 1.2% to US$82.67 a barrel while gold gained 0.3% to US$1,988.88.
Australian government bonds were relatively unchanged, with the 2 Year yield remaining at 3.14% and the 10 Year yield hinting down to 3.44%. Meanwhile, US Treasury notes advanced, with the 2 Year yield rising to 4.14% and the 10 Year yield climbing to 3.51%.
The Australian dollar moved up slightly to 66.91 US cents after previously closing at 66.89. The Wall Street Journal Dollar Index, which tracks the US dollar against 16 other currencies, declined to 95.75.
Asia
Chinese shares ended lower, weighed down by chip and property stocks. Sentiment was weak amid concerns about another possible Covid outbreak, and the unevenness of China’s economic recovery. Property developers China Vanke and Poly Developments slid 2.6% and 1.9%, respectively, amid doubts about the real estate sector's recovery. Semiconductor equipment company Naura Technology shed 1.3%. Digital currency related stocks were among the gainers after a city in Jiangsu Province said it will pay civil servants in digital yuan. Beijing Advanced Digital rose 14%. The Shanghai Composite Index closed 0.8% lower at 3275.41. The Shenzhen Composite Index lost 0.8% and the ChiNext Price Index fell 1.7%.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index closed 0.6% lower at 19959.94 amid rate hike uncertainties. While the consensus view seems to be that the Federal Reserve will be heading toward a rate pause following its May meeting, data indicating economic resilience could brew speculation for another rate increase in June, said IG market analyst Yeap Jun Rong in a note. Declines were seen across sectors. Sportswear supplier Li Ning closed 3.6% lower, property developer Longfor Group fell 2.4% and telecom company China Unicom shed 2.4%. Gainers included electric vehicle supplier BYD Co., which advanced 3.6%.
Japanese stocks ended higher, led by gains in airline and railway shares partly on hopes for travel demand recovery ahead of Japan's spring holiday season. ANA Holdings gained 3.7% and West Japan Railway advanced 2.2%. The Nikkei Stock Average rose 0.1% to 28593.52.
India's benchmark Sensex index rose 0.7% to close at 60056.10, with financial institutions leading gains. Sentiment appears to be positive among traders but what matters now is how well US tech giants perform, Naeem Aslam, chief investment officer at Zaye Capital Markets, said in an email, noting that some of them report results this week. Among financial institutions, ICICI Bank climbed 2.3%, Axis Bank rose 2.2% and State Bank of India was up 2.1%. Meanwhile, Maruti Suzuki India fell 1.1% and Sun Pharmaceutical Industries lost 1.0%.
Europe
European indices lagged on Monday. The Stoxx Europe 600 index, which includes companies from across the continent, ended flat while the German DAX and the French CAC 40 each lost roughly 0.1%.
In London, the FTSE 100 closed slightly in the red as iron ore prices fell to their lowest levels this year. "The FTSE 100 has chopped in and out of negative territory for most of the day with basic resources and telecoms providing the main drag, while energy has pulled the index off its intraday lows," CMC Markets analyst Michael Hewson explained. Dowlais Group was the biggest riser, ending up 5.8%, while Ocado Group was the furthest in the red, finishing down 2.1%.
North America
US stocks wobbled between small gains and losses in another quiet session Monday, while investors awaited a flood of corporate earnings reports and further clarity on the path of interest rates.
The S&P 500 rose 0.1%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.2% and the Nasdaq Composite slipped 0.3%.
Markets have turned quiet after last month's abrupt collapse of Silicon Valley Bank spurred worries about the health of the financial system. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite have moved by less than 1% for two weeks in a row. Wall Street's fear gauge, the Cboe Volatility Index, has fallen as well.
Investors are turning their focus this week to Big Tech earnings. Amazon.com, Microsoft, Google parent Alphabet, Facebook parent Meta Platforms and Intel are among the companies scheduled to report in the coming days. Analysts expect profits to decline from a year ago at all but Amazon, according to estimates compiled by FactSet.
"It's not like we're all excited about growth," said Daniel Morgan, senior portfolio manager at Synovus Trust. "We're still seeing a pretty low bar coming into this quarter. I think we could get some surprises on the upside."
So far, 90 of the companies in the S&P 500, or about 18% of the index, have reported results. About 77% of those companies have topped profit expectations so far, according to FactSet. Analysts are projecting profits to drop by 6.2% from a year ago, based on projected earnings and actual results. That would mark the largest decline since the second quarter of 2020.
Coca-Cola shares edged 0.2% lower Monday, after reporting quarterly results that topped analyst estimates. Fox fell 2.9% after Fox News said Tucker Carlson is leaving the network. Walt Disney rose 0.1% after the network began a fresh round of layoffs. Bed Bath & Beyond shares fell 36% after the retailer filed for bankruptcy protection over the weekend.
Laura Cooper, macro strategist at BlackRock, suggested that trading activity is likely to remain subdued this week ahead of the Federal Reserve's May policy meeting, "unless we see a material surprise coming through in the key earnings releases.”
