Australian shares appear set for a muted open, in line with modest weakness in New York as investors tap the brakes as the rally that\u2019s driven equities to record highs stalls.<\/p>\n
The \u201cstalling\u201d came after the S&P 500 reset its intraday record high shortly after the open on Wall Street. The Nasdaq Composite did the same.<\/p>\n
However, a report that Oracle\u2019s profit margin in its cloud computing business may not be a strong as expected saw the company\u2019s stock tumble, though it was trying to recover as the session progressed.<\/p>\n
Still, the tumble reflected a raft of warnings from market strategists that investors are too enthusiastic about the outlook and that valuations have leapt ahead of fundamentals.<\/p>\n
\u201cMomentum can certainly mean revert in the near-term, but the potency of strength tells us more about where the dominant trends are than anything else,\u201d Strategas Securities said in a note.<\/p>\n
\u201cGiven the historic magnitude of the rally, one thing we\u2019re surprised about is our collection of sentiment barometers is still shy of the euphoric zone. We\u2019ll watch this into the final months of the year, and it may ultimately emerge as a more meaningful threat in 2026, but we\u2019d still stop short of calling sentiment euphoric today.\u201d<\/p>\n
Market highlights<\/p>\n
ASX 200 futures are pointing up 3 points or 0.03 per cent to 8990.
All US prices near 2.30pm New York time.<\/p>\n
AUD -0.5% to US65.87\u00a2Bitcoin -3.2% to $US121,408On Wall St: Dow -0.3% S&P -0.4% Nasdaq -0.7%VIX +0.79 to 17.16Gold +0.6% to $US3982.83 an ounceBrent oil -0.5% to $US65.17 a barrelIron ore +0.1% to $US104.10 a tonne10-year yield: US 4.11% Australia 4.38%Today\u2019s agenda<\/p>\n
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand is widely expected to cut its key interest rate at a policy meeting on Wednesday. A statement is scheduled for 12pm AEDT.<\/p>\n
Top stories<\/p>\n
Why Australia could be a surprise winner from Trump\u2019s trade war<\/a> | New research from EY suggests US tariffs could spur extra investment in Australia, help local businesses find new markets and reduce the cost of imports.<\/p>\n Liberals pledge spending cuts as key to budget reset<\/a> | The Coalition will take spending cuts to the next election, in a high-risk strategy designed to restore the budget and the Liberal Party\u2019s sense of purpose.<\/p>\n Crown in talks with Fox family for prestigious golf course sale<\/a> | The Blackstone-owned casino giant started exploring a potential sale of the Capital Golf Club last year.<\/p>\n