Morning Wrap: ASX 200 to edge higher, US and UK markets closed + Gold, copper prices bounce

European markets ticked higher on a quiet day for markets, with both UK and US markets closed. Overnight markets were buoyed by a clear signal from the European Central Bank that its ready to begin cutting rates.

Let's dive in.

S&P 500 DAILY CHART

S&P 500 continues to linger around all-time highs (Source: TradingView)

OVERNIGHT MARKETS

• US market closed for Memorial Day and UK markets closed for May bank holidays – Data for US markets reflects performance for last Friday's session

• European markets ticked higher after the ECB signalled the possibility of successive rate cuts starting next month

• Regional European benchmarks higher, led by France’s CAC (+0.46%), Germany’s DAX (+0.44%) and the Stoxx 600 (+0.28%)

• Trading volumes on the Stoxx 600 was less than half the 20-day average

• European sectors including Industrials, Utilities and Discretionary led to the upside

• Commodities including gold, copper, nickel and aluminium bounced following a sharp pullback last week

• S&P 500 futures currently +0.23%, Dow +0.15% and Nasdaq +0.39%

CENTRAL BANKS

• Bank of Ghana held interest rates at a lofty 29% for a second time in a row (Bloomberg)

• ECB’s Chief Economist Philip Lane says previous rate hikes have yet to be felt and sees inflation stabilisation at 2% goal in 2025 (Bloomberg)

• ECB Governing Council Member Olli Rehn says “the time is thus ripe in June to ease the monetary policy stance and start cutting rates” (Speech)

ECONOMY

• China’s industrial profit rise 4.3% in Jan-April (Reuters)

• German business outlook gauge rose for a fourth month as confidence builds that the country’s economic rebound will strengthen over the rest of the year (Bloomberg)

The Overnight ETF table has been omitted today as it largely reflects the performance of US-listed ETFs.

Hi, Kerry here. I vanished for a month to ... become a Dad. Big shout out to my colleagues Hans and Chris for keeping the Morning Wrap rolling. I'm a little out of touch with markets – so give me a minute to catch up :)

ASX TODAY

• ASX 200 set for a relatively flat and quiet open – Let's see how miners perform as base and precious metal prices bounce as well as any follow through strength for banks (most major banks rallied around 1% on Monday)

• Australian Vintage shops $30m equity raise as Accolade walks (AFR)

• Boss Energy CEO Duncan Craib discloses sale of 3.75m shares (BOE)

• Domino’s Pizza publishes slides for European strategy presentation (DMP)

• Regis Healthcare founder poised  to sell down $1.25bn stake (AFR)

• Star Entertainment suitor claims it kept Hard Rock in the loop (AFR)

• Stockland signs $1bn land lease partnership with US giant (AFR)

BROKER MOVES

• Domino's Pizza upgraded to Buy from Outperform; target up to $46.50 from $46.10 (CLSA)

• HMC Capital upgraded to Outperform from Neutral; target up to $7.97 from $6.76 (Macquarie)

• Paladin Energy downgraded to Hold from Buy; target cut to $15.70 from $16.50 (Bell Potter)

• Sandfire Resources downgraded to Market-weight from Overweight with $9.90 target (Wilsons) 

Companies trading ex-dividend: 

• Tue 28 May: Elders (ELD) – $0.18

• Wed 29 May: Nufarm (NUF) – $0.04

• Thu 30 May: Technology One (TNE) – $0.05, KKR Credit Income Fund (KKC) – $0.017, Gryphon Capital (GCI) – $0.015, 360 Capital Mortgage REIT (TCF) – $0.035, Pengana International (PIA) – $).014, Metrics Income Opportunities (MOT) – $0.013, Metrics Master Income Trust (MXT) – $0.014

• Fri 31 May: None

• Mon 3 June: Newmont (NEM) – $0.268

Other ASX corporate actions today: 

• Dividends paid: None

• Listing: None

Economic calendar (AEST):

• 11:30 am: Australian Retail Sales (Apr)