The ASX is tipped to open higher after the S&P 500 hit a record on a better-than-expected July jobs report. All eyes on the RBA rate decision tomorrow and a wave of financial releases.
The S&P/ASX 200 is tipped to open strongly on Monday, following a record close on Wall Street after a better-than-expected July jobs report. The S&P 500 rose to a new high on Friday after the U.S. economy lost just 23,000 jobs last month, well below the forecast. That eased investor worries about further interest rate hikes from the Federal Reserve.
Locally, the focus turns to a busy week of financial releases. Westpac will publish its third-quarter update today. NAB releases its business confidence review tomorrow. The Reserve Bank of Australia will announce its latest interest rate decision tomorrow afternoon. Economists widely expect the cash rate to remain on hold, according to a Bloomberg survey.
Gold ETFs and AI Debt
Globally, physically backed gold exchange-traded funds attracted $3 billion of inflows in July, reversing two consecutive months of outflows, the World Gold Council reported in its latest Goldhub newsletter. The demand was broad-based across all regions, led by Europe. Positive flows and a higher gold price lifted total global gold ETF assets under management by 1% to $530 billion. Collective holdings rose by 23 tonnes to 4,068 tonnes.
Goldman Sachs Research estimated companies have issued nearly $500 billion in AI-related debt so far in 2026. More issuance is likely to come. Amanda Lynam, head of credit strategy research at Goldman Sachs, said hyperscalers–the biggest U.S. tech companies responsible for 40% of AI debt issuance this year–could raise an additional $2 trillion while maintaining their investment-grade ratings. Lynam added that the bigger question is which markets would absorb that amount of debt, given investment-grade credit markets are unlikely to take it all.
Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) carries an Alpha Score of 48 out of 100, labeled Mixed, in AlphaScala's proprietary model.
New Listings and Company Updates
Elk Range Mining (ASX:ELK) will commence trading at 12:00 p.m. AEST today after being admitted to the official list on Thursday. The company raised $10 million in its initial public offering to advance the Idaho gold project. Elk Range has consolidated a land position and an extensive historical geological and drilling database. The company is led by non-executive chairman Campbell Baird, who has more than 30 years in the mining industry, and CEO Edward Keys, who brings over 20 years of experience in mineral exploration and project development across Australia and North America.
Infratil (ASX:IFT) unveiled a data centre proposal in New Zealand with Contact Energy for Taranaki. Caspin Resources (ASX:CPN) identified regional discovery opportunities at Kelpie. West Cobar Metals (ASX:WC1) is advancing the Salazar scandium development pathway. Stavely Minerals (ASX:SVY) released a robust scoping study on the Stavely gossan.
In currencies, the Australian dollar bought $0.706 U.S. dollars. Commodities were mixed. Iron ore fell 0.87% to $94.45 a tonne. Brent crude rose 1.29% to $83.55 a barrel. U.S. natural gas futures gained 1.06% to $2.69 per million British thermal units.
Trading in ELK begins at 12:00 p.m. AEST. The RBA decision follows tomorrow afternoon.
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