The S&P 500 notches its 25th record high this year
Nvidia surpasses Apple to become the second most valuable company in the world
And what’s been happening with gold and copper prices lately?
The ASX 200 is poised to rise when the market opens on Thursday. At 8am AEST, the ASX200 futures contract was pointing up by +0.6%.
Overnight, Wall Street rallied to new records once again on the back of tech stocks.
The S&P 500 rose by +1.18%, its 25th record hight this year. The blue chips Dow Jones index was up by +0.25%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq surged by +1.96%.
Nvidia Corp rose by +5% to yet another record high, as it became the second most valuable company in the world with its market cap surpassing Apple’s to top US$3 trillion for the first time.
The other big chipmaker, ASML Holding, which is traded in Amsterdam, rose +8% to become Europe’s second-biggest listed company, overtaking LVMH, with a market cap of EUR380 billion.
Microsoft, with a market cap of US$3.15 trillion, sill remains the world’s most valuable company after its shares climbed +2% last night.
“In addition to a strategic allocation to the tech sector, we see a particular opportunity in small-cap stocks supported by the beginning of the Fed’s easing cycle,” Lolita Marcelli at UBS Global Wealth Management told Bloomberg.
Alphabet (Google) rose +1% after appointing Anat Ashkenazi, an executive from Eli Lilly & Co., as its new chief financial officer. She will succeed Ruth Porat, who had previously announced her intention to transition from the role.
Boeing rose +0.65% after launching its space taxi, carrying NASA astronauts, and is currently on course to rendezvous with the International Space Station by today.
Discount store Dollar Tree Inc fell after -5% after announcing that it was deciding what to do with its struggling Family Dollar division. Options on the table include selling it, or spinning it off into a separate company.
What’s happening with gold and copper prices?
Meanwhile, the gold price was up over +1% overnight to US$2,355.50 an ounce.
The bullion price jumped after the latest US job market data suggested there might be a Fed Reserve interest rate cut soon.
Right now, traders are pricing in about a 59% chance that the Fed will lower rates in September, according to CME FedWatch.
In Europe, it’s almost certain that the European Central Bank will cut rates by a quarter point to 3.75% on Thursday. If they do, it will be the first big central bank to cut rates in this cycle.
To copper, after a recent surge, copper prices have now retreated below US$10,000 a metric tonne, as traders weighed a significant increase in global inventories.
Stockpiles on the Shanghai Futures Exchange are now at their highest level since 2020.
Normally, inventories decrease around this time of year, so this increase has pushed prices down, especially after copper reached a record high above US$11,100 last month.
In other markets …
Oil prices rose by +1.5%, with Brent crude now trading at US$78.67 a barrel.
The benchmark 10-year US Treasury yield was down a further 5 basis points (bond prices higher) to 4.28%.
The Aussie dollar was flat at 66.50 cents.
The iron ore price dropped another -0.3% to US$107.10 a tonne.
Bitcoin meanwhile rose by +0.8% in the last 24 hours to US$71,167, while Ethereum was also up +0.8% to US$3,847.
5 ASX small caps to watch today
European Lithium (ASX:EUR)
European Lithium announced that car maker BMW has transferred funds of US$15 million to ECM Lithium AT GmbH, a wholly owned subsidiary of Critical Metals Corp (Nasdaq: CRML) in relation to the offtake of battery grade lithium hydroxide (LiOH) from the Wolfsberg Lithium Project in Austria which is to be offset against LiOH delivered to BMW. European Lithium holds an 83% stake in Critical Metals. Through this significant interest, EUR is aligned with Critical Metals’ vision to become a key supplier for the lithium-ion battery supply chain in Europe.
SRG Global (ASX:SRG)
Engineering company SRG announced it has been awarded multiple contracts with existing clients in the renewable energy, resources and energy sectors across Australia. The value of the new works secured is $125m. Contracts include a six-year term deal with Rio Tinto at their Yarwun Refinery in Gladstone, QLD. Also, an asset integrity services contract extension with Origin Energy at its upstream infrastructure network across QLD.
Echo IQ (ASX:EIQ)
Echo IQ said that Dr. Pedro Covas from Baylor Scott & White, The Heart Hospital Plano TX, presented a scientific talk titled “AI-Powered Cardiac Ultrasound Improves Identification of High-Risk Aortic Stenosis (Echo IQ) in a New York heart summit. Dr. Covas emphasised the necessity for an artificial intelligence system to assist in diagnosing aortic stenosis. Dr. Covas looked at whether AI could make diagnosing severe aortic stenosis more accurate in a real hospital. His team used Echo IQ’s technology, EchoSolv-AS, on echocardiogram reports from a heart hospital for seven months. The findings showed EchoSolv to be successful in identifying more patients at risk of aortic stenosis than human-only diagnosis.
Adavale Resources (ASX:ADD)
Adavale announced positive results from its initial exploration program in the Mundowdna area, now part of the Marree Embayment Project (MEP). The findings reveal a promising new uranium deposit zone, marked by several surface features and anomalies. This discovery will be a key drilling target for the company, as it expands its focus on uranium exploration in South Australia. The data collected will guide future exploration efforts in the region.
Poseidon Nickel (ASX:POS)
A recent assessment of the Windarra project has found not only promising nickel sulphide channels but also gold in soil anomalies. These gold anomalies align with a significant regional gold trend and may indicate potential for new gold deposits. Additionally, newly discovered nickel sulphide channels suggest the possibility of a new nickel sulphide deposit near the surface.
At Stockhead we tell it like it is. While European Lithium and Adavale Resources are Stockhead advertisers, they did not sponsor this article.
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