Company Interview / the open: ASX to rise as Wall St resets highs

The local market is set for a strong start with ASX futures up 0.5%. This comes as global equity markets extended gains overnight with new record highs for the German and Spanish bourses off the back of slowing inflation. 

Stocks on Wall Street continued their ascent with the Dow at another record, while chip stocks rallied on renewed AI optimism. Memory and storage technology stocks rallied after Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang detailed upcoming AI processors that include a new layer of storage technology. 

While geopolitical events, headlined by the turmoil in Venezuela, remain a distraction for markets, investors are awaiting the first batch of data for the new year with key US jobs data due this week. Richmond Fed President Thomas Barkin has said, "Both sides of our mandate bear watching. Unemployment remains low on a historic basis but has ticked up. Inflation has come down but remains above target.” 

The US dollar edged higher against its major peers with the euro weighed down by the softer inflation data. The Australian dollar has climbed to US67.4 cents.