Tuesday 10 November kicks off with the S&P/ASX 200 futures up 0.75% at 7am AEDT, after the index closed up a negligible 0.10% yesterday. Miners led the market, with the Materials sector rising 2.88% as spot gold surged.
This morning, gold is 1.4% higher at US$4,128 ($5,962) an ounce, copper has climbed 2.2% to US$12,716 a tonne, and iron ore has inched up 0.01% to US$92.71 a tonne.
Brent crude is trading at US$91.48 a barrel, down 6.96%, after US President Donald Trump hosed down fears of a major attack on Iran.
On Wall Street, all three major indices were up, with the Dow rising 2.36%, the S&P 500 gaining 2.48%, and the Nasdaq climbing 2.81%.
Consumer and business confidence releases today
Today is a big day for animal spirits, with Westpac Banking (ASX:WBC) releasing its Consumer Confidence Index and National Australia Bank (ASX:NAB) dropping its Business Confidence reading.
The Consumer Confidence Index will be the first major test of consumer sentiment following the Reserve Bank of Australia’s (RBA) 0.25% cash rate hike to 4.85% on Melbourne Cup Day, with Westpac’s survey period capturing the impact of last week’s decision.
The October reading was down 4.7% to 80.4 points, a fall from 84.4 in September, with consumers citing cost-of-living pressures, higher fuel prices, and interest rate concerns.
The latest reading will reveal whether consumers are becoming even more cautious in the face of higher borrowing costs, which may in turn have some sway on the RBA’s next interest rate decision.
NAB’s Business Confidence measures business sentiment and conditions during the final week of October, before the latest RBA rate rise and the US midterm elections.
It fell four points to -13 in September, 18 points below its long-run average, which NAB attributed to interest rate and inflation concerns, global uncertainty, and elevated fuel and diesel costs.
Write to Christina Wagstaff at Mining.com.au
Main image: iStock
