ASX 200 set to open 11 points higher as Nvidia and Salesforce lift the Nasdaq 1.57%

Sentiment: mixed ASX 200 futures: +0.12%

The S&P/ASX 200 closed at 9,038.2 on 27 August 2026, down 0.98%, and SPI futures point to an open just 11 points higher even though the Nasdaq Composite gained 1.57% overnight on results from NVDA.US and CRM.US. NVDA.US rose 8.74% after guiding to roughly 70% revenue growth in fiscal 2028, against the 44% analysts surveyed by LSEG had modelled. Wednesday's July CPI beat lifted September RBA hike pricing from 17% to 27%, and that repricing, alongside a run of poorly received FY26 results, drove Thursday's local decline and still caps this morning's open.

Overnight drivers

• NVDA.US +8.74%: fiscal second-quarter revenue more than doubled and management guided fiscal 2028 revenue growth near 70%. Semiconductors followed, with AVGO.US +4.49%, INTC.US +4.36% and the VanEck Semiconductor ETF SMH.US +3.10%.
• CRM.US +22.58%: second-quarter revenue of US$11.35 billion, up 11% year on year, with adjusted earnings of US$5.90 a share against US$3.27 consensus, lifted by a US$2.6 billion gain on its Anthropic stake. Full-year adjusted earnings guidance moved to US$16.67 to US$16.71 from US$14.06 to US$14.12.
• OKTA.US +28.63% and CRWD.US +20.50% on earnings beats, with ADSK.US +6.21% and ADBE.US +5.73% joining the software bid. The S&P 500 technology sector posted its best session since 4 August.
• US July PCE ran at 3.7% year on year against 3.6% consensus, with core at 3.3% and in line. The 10-year Treasury yield settled at 4.672%, up less than a basis point, and the VIX fell 4.60% to 14.51.

Overnight Wall Street

• S&P 500: 7,730.99 (+0.72%)
• Nasdaq Composite: 26,541.35 (+1.57%)
• Dow Jones: 53,569.44 (+0.20%)
• Russell 2000: 3,014.34 (+0.28%)
• VIX: 14.51 (-4.60%)

The Dow added 105.56 points, or 0.20%, and the Russell 2000 managed 0.28%. A narrow band of large technology and software names produced most of the advance: AMZN.US fell 1.54%, META.US 0.87%, AMD.US 0.89% and JPM.US 0.64%, which is why the S&P 500 captured less than half the Nasdaq's percentage gain.

Commodities and FX (AU-relevant)

• Gold: US$4,661 an ounce (Comex December contract), little changed
• WTI crude: US$83.51 a barrel (+1.55%)
• Copper: US$6.69 a pound
• AUD/USD: 0.7198 (+0.29%)
• US Dollar Index: 99.13 (-0.04%)

WTI added 1.55% to US$83.51 a barrel, the largest commodity move of the session. Gold held near US$4,661 an ounce on the Comex December contract after the July PCE print landed above consensus on the headline measure. The Australian dollar traded at 0.7198, up 0.29%, a level that trims US dollar revenue when translated into Australian dollars at reporting.

Key themes for ASX open

• Enterprise software: WTC.AU fell 3.28%, TNE.AU 2.74% and XRO.AU 2.60% on Thursday, in the same 24 hours that US software posted its strongest session since 4 August.
• Data centres: NXT.AU closed 1.59% lower on Thursday, the day it released FY26 results showing revenue up 16% to $405 million, underlying EBITDA up 15% to $248.8 million and contracted utilisation of 740.1MW.
• Energy: WTI at US$83.51 gives WDS.AU, which added 0.25% on Thursday, and STO.AU, up 0.12%, a firmer oil price into the final session of reporting season.
• Gold miners: NST.AU added 1.00% on Thursday while EVN.AU fell 1.38%, leaving the sector split ahead of a session where bullion is close to unchanged.
• Banks and rates: CBA.AU eased 0.32% on Thursday. September RBA hike pricing sits at 27%, while the US 10-year settled at 4.672%.
• Iron ore majors: BHP.AU fell 1.48% and RIO.AU 0.52% on Thursday, both trailing the local index decline of 0.98%.

Economic calendar

• Friday 28 August: the final official day of the August reporting season, which has run since 3 August across more than 250 ASX-listed companies.
• Saturday 00:00 AEST: Fed Chair Kevin Warsh delivers his first Jackson Hole keynote, scheduled for 10:00 ET on Friday. The symposium theme is "Financial Innovation: Implications for Payments and Policy".

What to watch

• An 11 point SPI gap against a 1.57% Nasdaq session quantifies how little of the offshore lead the local market is taking while RBA pricing resets.
• Warsh speaks after the ASX closes for the week, so the first local pricing of his remarks arrives Monday. His address falls 19 days before the 16 to 17 September FOMC decision, with the federal funds rate at 3.50% to 3.75% after a 9 to 3 July vote in which three members backed a 25 basis point increase.
• Market pricing puts an 80% chance on an RBA hike by February 2027, up from a 27% chance at the September meeting.

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