The Australian sharemarket is tipped to maintain its upward track as a new month opens despite a flat finish on Wall Street on Friday (Saturday AEST).
Future trading indicates the main Australian market index will edge higher with the S&P/ASX 200 June share price index contract quoted eight points (0.09%) above the previous settlement at 8,465 points at the time of writing.
United States stock indices ended mixed last week amid continued trade turmoil but closed out a month in which the S&P 500 delivered its largest increase since November 2023.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.1%, the S&P was virtually flat and the Nasdaq Composite dipped 0.32% on Friday after President Donald Trump criticised Chinese optimism over a tariff breakthrough.
May was a strong month for U.S. equities with the Dow adding 3.9%, the S&P 500 jumping 6.2% and the Nasdaq surging 9.6%, driven by Trump softening his initial trade position and strong corporate earnings.
The Australian sharemarket had risen 0.3% to 8,434.7 on Friday, bringing its increase in May to 3.8% as energy and technology sectors led six of the index’s 11 sectors lower.
Companies in the spotlight today will include Washington H. Soul Pattison (ASX: SOL) and Brickworks (ASX: BKW), which have unveiled a A$14 billion (US$9.0 billion) merger.
In the fixed interest market, the Australian Government bond yield curve continued to flatten as 10 year rates dropped 0.14% to 4.275% while two year rates added 0.73% to 3.294% respectively.
