Company Interview / the open: ASX to drop after US credit downgrade

The local market is set to begin the week slightly lower, with ASX futures down 0.1%. Wall Street’s main indices rose on Friday for the fifth straight session, buoyed by the U.S-China, tariff truce. For the week, the S&P 500 gained almost 5.5%, whilst the Nasdaq was up 7.2% and the Dow added close to 3.5%. UnitedHealth Group led the S&P gainers, after eight straight days of steep losses, following a report of a criminal probe over an alleged Medicare fraud. The focus for the US this week is on retail earnings, including Target, Home Depot and Lowe's. Oil settled higher on Friday, notching a second straight week of gains on easing US-China trade tensions, although prices were held back by expectations of higher supply from Iran and OPEC+. Brent crude futures settled up 1.4%, at $65 per barrel, whilst Copper fell almost 2% and iron ore dropped 1.4% to $101 a ton. The Australian dollar is trading at US64.0c, and bitcoin climbed to $104,000. Locally this week, the large focus will be on the Reserve bank tomorrow, with the reveal of its interest rate decision, with an expected 25 basis point cut.