Company Interview / the open: ASX to test all-time high

The Australian sharemarket is set to test all time highs, with SPI futures indicating a gain of 0.7%.

US sharemarkets rose on Monday along with tech-related shares after the market posted a strong November, ahead of this week's economic data - including the key monthly jobs report on Friday.

The S&P 500 kicked off December trade hitting a new record. It's currently tracking for its biggest annual percentage gain since 2021 and and one of the biggest two-year gains in history.

Tesla shares rose more than 3% on a broker upgrade while Amazon gained 1% amid the start of the holiday shopping season.US manufacturing contracted at a moderate pace in November, with orders growing for the first time in eight months and factories facing significantly lower prices for inputs. The ISM manufacturing PMI rose to a five-month high of 48.4 from 46.5 in October, which was the lowest level since July 2023.

Federal Governor Christopher Waller said he's inclined to vote for another cut in December, while Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic said he'd undecided on whether another cut is needed this month.

The US dollar rose in the wake of the weekend's comments by President-elect Trump on the US dollar's leading global role.

Ahead today, the balance of payments (September quarter) data is released, while the Bank of Queensland holds its AGM. Collins Foods releasing earnings, WiseTech is holding an investor briefing and Incitec Pivot trades ex-dividend.