Rise and Shine: Everything you need to know before the ASX opens

Good morning! Here’s everything you need to know before the ASX flings open its doors and begins trading today.

Everything you need to know before the ASX opens. Pic: Getty Images.

Good morning everyone and welcome to Rise and Shine on Monday, June 2, 2025. Here’s what you should know before the ASX opens today…

The ASX200 is eyeing a flat start to the week, with futures pointing up by just 0.1% at 7AM AEST.

Wall Street closes May with a roar

The S&P 500 closed flat on Friday, but locked in its best May since the early ’90s, up by over 6%.

The Nasdaq was down 0.3%, but put in a near 10% sprint in May, thanks to a tech sector that refuses to sit still.

INDICES ON FRIDAY:

STOCK INDICES	Value	Change
ASX 200	8,435	0.30%
S&P 500	5,912	-0.01%
Dow Jones	42,270	0.13%
Nasdaq Comp	19,114	-0.32%
Euro Stoxx 50	5,367	-0.08%
UK FTSE	8,772	0.64%
German DAX	23,997	0.27%
French CAC	7,752	-0.36%

But on Friday, Nvidia got whacked 3% after Trump’s camp flagged a fresh crackdown on Chinese tech. Markets heard “more chip bans” and flinched.

Tesla also dropped 3% after Elon’s name was splashed across the headlines for all the wrong reasons. The New York Times reported that Musk had allegedly been using a mix of illicit and prescription drugs “far more intensely than previously known” while on the campaign trail for Trump.

But now that he’s stepping away from his government post, punters are betting he’ll refocus on Tesla again. Tesla's stock price was up 22% in May.

Meanwhile, the Fed’s favourite yardstick – the core Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) index – rose 0.2% for the month, bang in line with forecasts.

For the Fed, this is the kind of data that lets them exhale; it’s not quite victory over inflation, but it’s not throwing petrol on the fire either.

Trump v China: chip wars, round two

Just when you thought the trade spat was cooling off, Trump’s team grabbed the matches again.

A new rule is apparently in the works to block Chinese firms from sidestepping US sanctions.

Trump hit Truth Social accusing China of breaking their fresh-off-the-press trade truce struck in early May.

Add to that a court drama – Trump’s global tariffs, ruled illegal, just got a lifeline from an appeals court. And suddenly, the tariff gun’s back on the table.

Steel deal gets Trump treatment

Over in Pennsylvania, Trump took the stage in front of a US Steel plant and tore up the script.

He announced that steel and aluminium tariffs are going up from 25% to 50%.

It’s all tied to the Nippon Steel-US Steel deal, a $14B move Trump once opposed, now flipped into a win for “American jobs.”

He promised no layoffs, full-capacity blast furnaces, and a $5,000 bonus for workers.

US steel stocks popped hard on the news.

But the fine print is still fuzzy. There’s talk of a “golden share” for the US government.

Big week for the Aussie economy

Back home, we’ve got a data-heavy week that could shape the next move from Martin Place.

Monday brings the Melbourne Institute’s Inflation Gauge (expected +0.5%) and ANZ-Indeed job ads (tipped to rise 0.4%).

But Wednesday’s the main event: national accounts data. CBA has pencilled in 0.4% GDP growth for the March quarter.

We’ll also get the RBA’s May meeting minutes on Wednesday. Traders will be poring over every sentence for clues on whether more cuts are baked in, or if the May cut was a one-and-done job.

Commodity/forex/crypto market prices

Price (US)	Move
Gold:	$3,288.58	-0.89%
Silver:	$32.98	-1.03%
Iron ore:	$99.12	-0.15%
Nickel:	$15,380.00	-0.10%
Copper:	$9,348.40	0.70%
Zinc:	$2,636.20	-1.44%
Lithium carbonate 99.5% Min China Spot:	$8,500.00	-0.58%
Oil (WTI):	$60.79	-0.25%
Oil (Brent):	$62.78	-0.90%
AUD/USD:	$0.6434	-0.20%
Bitcoin:	$103,903.00	-1.30%

What got you talking

Also in the news…

Trump has signed a sweeping set of executive orders designed to revitalise and expand the US nuclear power industry. The changes could offer a huge opportunity for Australian miners.

Precision Funds Management has toasted a successful month, with 'fundamental value' stock picks in copper and property paying off.

AI is reshaping labs and Clever Culture’s (ASX:CC5) tech is gaining Big Pharma attention as diagnostics and cleanrooms go digital.

Trading halts

Nico Resources (ASX:NC1) – cap raise
Pacific Edge (ASX:PEB) – cap raise
Patrys (ASX:PAB) – operations update

At Stockhead, we tell it like it is. While DigitalX and Clever Culture are Stockhead advertisers, they did not sponsor this article.

This article does not constitute financial product advice. You should consider obtaining independent advice before making any financial decisions.

Originally published as Rise and Shine: Everything you need to know before the ASX opens