Australian shares are set to open higher, catching a wave that lifted both the S&P 500 and Dow Jones to record highs on hopes that a US-Iran deal on fully opening the Strait of Hormuz is imminent. US bond yields fell.
Strong earnings – from Palantir and Caterpillar, among others – also bolstered sentiment in New York.
S&P/ASX 200 futures were up 41 points or 0.5 per cent to 9131.
The S&P 500 rallied 1.8 per cent to 7736.52 in New York, a record closing high, bolstered by a 4.1 per cent surge in the information tech sector. The benchmark earlier touched 7758.21. The index has now reset its all-time high 25 times in 2026.
The Philadelphia semiconductor index rallied 6.6 per cent. Among the biggest Nasdaq 100 advancers were: Palantir, up 29.5 per cent; Arm Holdings, up 17.4 per cent; and Marvell Technology, up 12.8 per cent.
Nvidia and Apple led five of the magnificent seven higher; Amazon and Meta Platforms closed lower.
The Dow rose 1.7 per cent to 54,085.88, also a record closing high. It earlier rose as high as 54,272.6. It was led higher by Caterpillar, Cisco and IBM.
“The roadmap remains higher, but the speed of the reversal from one-month lows to record territory suggests [Fear of Missing Out] is now running ahead of confirmation,” market watcher Stephen Innes said.
Market highlights
ASX 200 futures are pointing up 41 points or 0.5 per cent to 9131.
All US prices near 5.15pm New York time.
- AUD +0.7% to US70.48¢
- Bitcoin +0.8% to $US64,154
- On Wall Street: Dow +1.7% S&P +1.8% Nasdaq +2.6%
- VIX +0.64 to 16.50
- Gold +0.5% to $US4076.30an ounce
- Brent oil -6% to $US78.74 a barrel
- Iron ore +0.2% to $US93.90 a tonne
- 10-year yield: US 4.61% Australia 4.97%
Source: https://www.afr.com/markets/equity-markets/asx-to-rise-s-and-p-500-pushes-through-7700-for-first-time-20260805-p60lhl