Markets Overview

  • ASX SPI 200 futures up 0.5% to 8,706.00
  • S&P 500 up 0.6% to 6,944.74
  • Dow Average up 1.0% to 49,461.31
  • Aussie up 0.3% to 0.6733 per US$
  • US 10-year yield rose 1.6bps to 4.1770%
  • Australia 3-year bond yield little changed at 4.17%
  • Australia 10-year bond yield fell 0.5 bps to 4.79%
  • Gold spot up 0.7% to $4,481.54
  • Brent futures down 2.0% to $60.52/bbl

Economic Events

  • 11:30: (AU) Nov. Building Approvals MoM, est. 2.0%, prior -6.4%
  • 11:30: (AU) Nov. CPI YoY, est. 3.6%, prior 3.8%
  • 11:30: (AU) Nov. CPI Trimmed Mean MoM, prior 0.3%
  • 11:30: (AU) Nov. CPI MoM, prior 0%
  • 11:30: (AU) Nov. Private Sector Houses MoM, prior -2.1%
  • 11:30: (AU) Nov. CPI Trimmed Mean YoY, est. 3.2%, prior 3.3%

Australia’s November CPI report is likely to show inflation easing slightly but remaining above the Reserve Bank’s 2%-3% target, according to Bloomberg Economics.

US stocks closed at a new record on Tuesday, continuing a run driven by investor optimism over artificial intelligence and expectations of easier monetary policy from the Federal Reserve.

The S&P 500 Index finished up 0.6% to top a closing high hit in late December. The tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 Index climbed 0.9%, while the small-cap focused Russell 2000 notched a 1.4% gain.

Stock investors have largely shrugged off tensions in Venezuela to extend a three-year bull run fueled by demand for AI–linked shares. A weaker than expected US Services PMI reading reported on Tuesday bolstered rate cut hopes, with business activity and jobs market data due later this week.

The AI theme remained in focus after a flurry of updates from tech companies at the CES trade show in Las Vegas. Gainers in the tech space on Tuesday included shares of Amazon.com Inc., Micron Technology and Microsoft Corp.

“The fact that we’re getting actual real-time economic data certainly seems to be a tailwind for investors,” said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at B. Riley Wealth. “That combined with excitement coming out of CES.”

Nvidia Corp., countering fears about an AI spending bubble, said on Tuesday that an upbeat revenue forecast delivered in October has only gotten brighter due to strong demand. In October, Nvidia had projected about half a trillion dollars of revenue from current and future data center chips by the end of 2026.

More broadly, still-elevated money-market balances sitting at a record $7.6 trillion promise to support the theory that US stocks tend to rise more in January than in other months, according to Scott Rubner, Citadel Securities’ head of equity and equity derivatives strategy.

“There are real, concrete things you can point to that support the markets in the here and now,” said Julie Biel, a portfolio manager at Kayne Anderson Rudnick.

She added, however, that the longer term picture was cloudier thanks to factors such as high levels of deficit spending and worries over AI’s impact on the workforce.

Gold climbed more than 1% as the rally in precious metals extended, while silver rose 6%. Brent crude unwound earlier gains. US Treasury yields crept higher, and the dollar advanced.

Optimism for the S&P 500 remains strong, with the latest Markets Pulse survey predicting another rally following three years of double-digit gains. Such a feat was last accomplished at the end of the previous century.

The US benchmark will climb as much as 20% this year, according to 60% of the 590 respondents to a poll conducted in the last three weeks of December. Less than a third of participants expected losses for the index while only a 10th saw more than 20% in gains.

The S&P 500’s 14-day relative strength index also suggests that US stocks might have further room to run, in contrast with other regions that have surpassed levels typically seen as overbought.

For the time being, though, some investors are diversifying their exposure. Equity positioning drifted lower across US indexes last week as longs were unwound and new shorts put in place, according to Citigroup Inc. strategists.

“We expect U.S. interest rates to be higher than consensus and higher than the rate of inflation, for longer,” wrote Qian Wang, Vanguard global head of capital market research. “So fixed income will remain attractive even beyond the important portfolio diversification benefits that it offers.”