Pre-Market Report – Tuesday 4 June: Iron Ore off 4% in Asia | Quiet, Too Quiet

Wall Street closed mixed in a choppy trading session amid soft manufacturing data, and a glitch on the NYSE caused trading halts in dozens of equities. The Dow fell 115 points (0.30%), kicking off June on a sluggish note. Up 49 points at best. Down 439 points at worst. S&P 500 turned green in the final minutes of trading, up 0.11%, buoyed by a rally in tech stocks offsetting a plunge in energy producers. The NASDAQ rose 0.56% while small caps Russell 2000 eased 0.50%. A glitch on the NYSE overnight triggered massive swings in Berkshire Hathaway and Barrick Gold. Trading in at least 60 stocks was halted due to volatility before the technical issues were fixed, and activity resumed as normal. May ISM manufacturing came in at 48.7 (Contraction), below expectations of 49.7, with new orders printing at 45.4, its weakest since May 2023, signalling ongoing soft demand as companies remain unwilling to invest due to current monetary policy. Treasury yields sank on US factory data strengthening the case for multiple rate cuts this year. 10Y down 11.4bps to 4.392% and the 2Y down 6.7bps 4.812%. Oil tumbled following OPEC+ meeting on Sunday and Bitcoin briefly topped $70k.

ASX to fall. SPI Futures down 12 points (-0.15%).

• Base metals mixed. Copper +1.15%, Nickel -1.42%, Aluminium +1.13%, Zinc -1.31%, Lead +0.62% and Tin -0.25%.
• Iron ore and Dalian iron ore fell 3.91% and 0.86% to their lowest level in more than six weeks on signs of weakening steel demand from China.
• Gold up 0.98% on weaker-than-expected US economic data cementing bets that the Fed would cut rates later this year.  
• Oil prices tumbled to their lowest level in nearly four months following OPEC+ decision on Sunday to extend most of its oil output cuts into 2025.  WTI -3.48% and Brent Crude 4.20%.
• Currencies – AUD -0.01%, USD Index -0.57%, Euro -0.01%, and Bitcoin +2.16%.
• 10Y Bond Yields – US 4.392%, Australia 4.298%, and Germany 2.584%.

Why not sign up for a free trial? Get access to expert market insights and manage your investments with confidence.

Ready to invest in yourself? Join the Marcus Today community.