ASX Tipped to Start the Week Higher After Wall Street Rebound
Key Takeaways
- •Wall Street closed higher on Friday, with the Dow gaining nearly 0.98% while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq each rose around 0.43%.
- •Bitcoin climbed 7.3% to US$77,917, marking its fifth consecutive daily gain and its strongest level since May.
- •Australia's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate rose to 4.5% in July, with male employment falling by 11,000 and female employment by 5,000.
- •Macmahon Contractors was awarded a 42-month, $485 million contract extension at the Telfer gold mine in Western Australia.
- •The Australian dollar was buying US$0.716, while gold traded at US$4,607.35 per ounce and iron ore edged up 0.05% to US$95.21 a tonne.
The ASX is being tipped to begin the week on a positive note, taking its cue from a strong finish on Wall Street prior to the weekend.
While the S&P/ASX 200 index slipped to 9,058.9 points on Friday, it is hoped that the positive news from the United States will translate into increased confidence among local investors, especially with sentiment often spilling over into sectors such as miners, resources and gold stocks.
Wall Street rebounds, Bitcoin leads
Wall Street bounced back on Friday, with the session led by interest in crypto as Bitcoin climbed to US$78,000. Crypto was the standout of the session.
Among the major indices, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq each gained around 0.43%, while the Dow climbed nearly 0.98%.
Friday's positive moves saw Bitcoin jump for a fifth day in a row, climbing 7.3% to reach US$77,917 — its best level since May.
Gold's push toward US$4,400
On the precious metals front, the latest episode of the World Gold Council's “Unearthed” unpacked gold's push toward US$4,400 per ounce, as softer US economic data clouds the outlook for further rate hikes from the Federal Reserve. That backdrop matters for local trading because gold and broader resources names remain an important part of the ASX tape.
Unemployment rate rises to 4.5%
Locally, the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate rose to 4.5% in July, according to the latest data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).
The majority of the fall in employment came from males, which fell by 11,000 people, while female employment recorded a smaller fall of 5,000.
Market news
On the market news front, a string of ASX-listed miners and mining services companies reported updates:
- Leading mining services group Perenti (ASX: PRN) delivered a strong full-year result on the strength of its second half of the financial year, with underlying revenue of $3.5 billion steady compared with FY25.
- Liberty (ASX: LFG) reported an eight per cent increase in statutory net profit after tax (NPAT) to $144 million for the financial year ended 30 June 2026.
- Macmahon Holdings (ASX: MAH) subsidiary Macmahon Contractors has been awarded a 42-month extension at the Telfer gold mine in Western Australia, valued at $485 million.
- Specialist mining finance firm Cutfield Freeman & Co has been appointed to support Tungsten Mining (ASX: TGN) in developing and executing an optimised funding strategy for the Watershed project.
- Industrial Minerals (ASX: IND) has confirmed a strong gold target at the North Pool prospect within the Laverton gold project in Western Australia.
Australian dollar and commodities
Now, in forex, the Australian dollar is buying US$0.716.
Looking at commodities, all quoted in US dollars:
- Iron ore was up 0.05% to $95.21 a tonne in Singapore today.
- Brent crude was up 0.65% to $94.390 per barrel.
- Gold is selling at $4,607.35.
- US natgas futures were up 1.46% to $2.7730 per gigajoule.
That's HotCopper's Market Open — I'm Colin Sandell-Hay, happy trading.
