Company Interview / the open: ASX to slip, whilst Wall St rallies

The local market looks set for a negative start with ASX futures off by 0.4%. This comes as global stocks rallied to a fresh record, while gold has fallen sharply on US-China trade optimism.

Wall Street's main indices extended Friday's record closing highs as investors looked to this week's meeting between President Trump and Chinese President Xi as well as being buoyed by the prospect of a likely rate cut from the Fed. Earnings results also loom large with five of the Mag Seven reporting this week. 

President Trump has announced a series of deals on trade and critical minerals with four Southeast Asian nations during his Asian tour. This comes ahead of his meeting with Chinese president Xi in South Korea on Thursday where tariffs and Chinese rare earths export controls will be discussed.

The US dollar index is down 0.1% on the day. Meanwhile the Australian dollar has climbed to US65.6 cents.