ASX 200 futures rise 0.4% to 8,866 as US health care hits a record and the Dow gains 1.02%

Sentiment: mixed ASX 200 futures: +0.4%

ASX 200 futures rose 32 points, or 0.4%, to 8,866 by 7:40am AEDT on 21 October 2026, after the Dow gained 1.02% to 52,495.88 on a rotation into US health care, which closed at a record (Capital Brief). NFLX.US fell 6.0% in after-hours trade to US$64.57 after a fourth-quarter revenue forecast below estimates. The futures level sits 49 points, or 0.6%, above Tuesday's ASX 200 close of 8,816.9, with CSL.AU and RMD.AU the local names closest to the US health care move.

Overnight drivers

• US health care +2.37%: XLV.US closed at US$179.82 as LLY.US rose 3.49%, MRK.US 3.25% and UNH.US 3.04%. The ASX health care index gained 0.87% on Tuesday and CSL.AU closed at $196.30, up 1.16%.
• Brent -0.39% to US$109.12: the December contract reversed from near US$112 earlier in the session (AP) after Iran's president met Pakistan's army chief, a mediator in US-Iran talks (Capital Brief). WDS.US fell 0.34% to US$23.63 ahead of Woodside's third-quarter report this morning; the ASX energy index fell 1.31% on Tuesday.
• US 10-year yield -2 bps to 5.12%: XLF.US gained 1.20% and COF.US 0.87% before Capital One reported a profit beat after the close (AFR). CBA.AU closed at $155.60 and NAB.AU at $39.20 on Tuesday after its 2,500 job cut plan.
• December gold -0.42% to US$4,142.50/oz: AUD/USD rose 0.36% to 0.7007, so gold fell 0.8% in Australian dollar terms to about A$5,912/oz. NEM.US fell 1.02% and GDX.US 0.43%, after the ASX gold index lost 1.52% on Tuesday.

Overnight Wall Street

• S&P 500: 7,712.57 (+0.28%)
• Nasdaq: 26,424.82 (-0.02%)
• Dow: 52,495.88 (+1.02%)
• VIX: 17.31 (-6.13%)

Earnings beats lifted the Dow and the small-cap Russell 2000, which rose 1.65% to 2,773.42. EFX.US gained 11.33% after a profit above forecasts, HAS.US 11.20% after its Magic: The Gathering game passed US$600 million in quarterly revenue, and BRZE.US 51.70% after CRM.US agreed to buy it for US$47.50 a share in cash (AP). GM.US fell 6.84% after a full-year profit forecast whose midpoint missed estimates, despite a US$20 billion buyback.

Communication services fell. META.US lost 1.59%, GOOGL.US 1.13% and NFLX.US 1.66% before its result, while NVDA.US slipped 0.29% and SMH.US 0.38% a day after the chip index ended an eight-session fall. South Korean AI cloud provider Elice fell 32% on its Seoul debut and the KOSPI 3.7% on Tuesday (AP). Elice rents out AI computing capacity, the same model as Firmus, which withdrew its planned $5.5 billion ASX listing (Stockhead).

Commodities and FX (AU-relevant)

• Gold: US$4,142.50/oz (-0.42%, December contract)
• Brent: US$109.12 (-0.39%, December contract)
• Iron ore 62%: US$90.95/t (+0.06%, Stockhead)
• AUD/USD: 0.7007 (+0.36%)

BHP.US closed at US$81.87, down 1.62%, equal to about A$58.42 a share, or 1.8% below BHP.AU's Tuesday close of $59.50. December copper rose 0.62% to US$6.616/lb. WTI December crude fell 0.37% to US$98.18. An AUD above 70 US cents lowers the Australian dollar value of US dollar revenue for CSL.AU, RMD.AU and COH.AU.

Key themes for the ASX open

• Health care: the S&P 500 sector record follows Tuesday's ASX moves of COH.AU +5.17% to $139.40, PME.AU +1.29% and CSL.AU +1.16%.
• Energy: Woodside's September-quarter report lands this morning, with Brent at US$109.12; STO.AU closed at $9.26 and WDS.AU at $33.82 on Tuesday.
• Miners: BHP.US implies about A$58.42 against BHP.AU's $59.50 close, after the 19% fall in quarterly copper output it reported on Tuesday.
• Gold: NST.AU (-1.68% to $24.62) and EVN.AU (-1.44% to $12.33) fell on Tuesday; December gold fell a further 0.42% overnight.
• Tech: XRO.AU rose 1.69% and WTC.AU 1.36% on Tuesday; the Nasdaq closed flat at 26,424.82 and NFLX.US trades 6.0% lower after hours.

Economic calendar today

• 09:30 AEDT: RBA deputy governor Andrew Hauser speaks (Stockhead)
• Before the open: Woodside September-quarter report
• During the session: SIG.AU annual general meeting
• Thu 01:00 AEDT: US usual weekly earnings, third quarter (BLS)

What to watch

• Tuesday's ASX 200 recovered 68 points from an intraday low of 8,748.5; the futures point to an open about 49 points above that close.
• Hauser's 9:30am remarks come with the Australian 10-year yield at 5.26% after Tuesday's 4 bp rise (Bloomberg).

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