ASX to rise, Wall St lifts on EU-US trade hopes, consumer data

AU Financial Review

2 days ago

Australian shares are set to open higher, tracking gains in Europe and the US on hopes that the EU and the US are on a path towards resolving US President Donald Trump's trade demands.
In a social media post, Trump said he was encouraged to hear that EU negotiators were accelerating talks with their US counterparts.
Separately, Wall Street's mood was lifted by a Conference Board report showing renewed optimism among US consumers. All 11 of the S&P 500 industry groups were higher in early afternoon trade.
The board's Consumer Confidence Index increased by 12.3 points in May to 98.0, up from 85.7 in April – well above a consensus estimate for 87. The Present Situation Index —based on consumers' assessment of current business and labour market conditions—rose 4.8 points to 135.9. The Expectations Index —based on consumers' short-term outlook for income, business, and labour market conditions—surged 17.4 points to 72.8.
'The rebound is striking, and tempered only partially by the fact that the survey window, which closed on May 19, will have picked up the improvement in sentiment due to the trade truce with China,' Pantheon Macroeconomics' Oliver Allen said.
Santander's Stephen Stanley said that while the book is far from closed on tariffs, financial markets seem ready to move past it, and the latest Conference Board data 'suggest that households may be moving in that direction as well'.
Market highlights
ASX futures are pointing up 40 points or 0.5 per cent to 8477.
All US prices are as of 1.30pm New York time.
Today's Agenda
Goodman Group is scheduled to report quarterly results, while Web Travel is on deck for full-year results. Fisher & Paykel Healthcare and Infratil also are set to report annual financials.
Local investors will be focused on the April CPI indicator. eToro's Josh Gilbert said the indicator has remained stable at 2.4 per cent for the past two months, and :we're likely to see the CPI for April remain stable or even slow down to 2.3 per cent (which is the consensus estimate), despite Trump's 'Liberation Day' tariffs temporarily reigniting inflation concerns.
'If April's CPI does come in at 2.3 per cent, it's a sign that disinflation is once again resuming after a stable few months and that Trump's tariffs have had minimal impact on local consumers.'
Across the Tasman, the RBNZ is widely expected to cut its key rate by 25 basis points at Wednesday's policy meeting. The decision will be announced at 12pm.
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