The ASX Today

The ASX is looking at a quiet day ahead given US markets were closed for Thanksgiving Holiday, but there's still a risk on the horizon coming from China.

Aside from China yesterday, it was mostly quiet everywhere else. The Shanghai Composite lost around 2.3 per cent, while the CSI 300 dropped more than 2.9 per cent. This happened mostly in the last hour of trade, and this shakiness naturally has the potential to curb Australian stocks. 

Locally, ASX SPI 200 Futures traders marked prices down another 17 points, with the forward-looking futures market now standing at 5979 points.

The Australian dollar has stood up against residence and is sitting at US76.23c this morning. The US dollar fell sharply on poor retail sales data, but made up some ground again thereafter. 

KEY POINTS

• China news poses biggest risk to local trade today
• Commodity prices still sparkling from day before, watch for big moves here
• The ASX lacking natural lead from the US given Thanksgiving
• No major Australian economic data released

China's slump certainly wasn't triggered by commodities. Copper is a touch lower at $US3.125, gold is inching higher and perched at $US1291 an ounce, and iron ore is down a little after a buoyant rally yesterday. Iron ore has risen by US90 cents overnight, or 1.4 per cent, to $US66.50 a tonne. This also comes on the back of the local resources sector being the best performer on the ASX yesterday. 

Amid light trade due to Thanksgiving, global oil prices have risen to fresh two-year highs. Continued supply disruptions along the major US-Canada oil pipeline have helped Brent crude rise by 0.4 per cent to $US63.55 a barrel. 

OPEC has also released its agenda for its upcoming meeting. The agenda reveals the meeting will only go for three years, shorter than some expected, meaning it might just be a confirmation of what's already been discussed. The anchor for the meeting should be the extension of the Saudis 9-month extension period.

China fell out of bed after news of a crackdown on its entire wealth management industry, which is obviously big business. Investors appear afraid that regulators are clamping down. There's concerns clampdowns will significantly slow down credit growth and put a curb to speculative stock trading.

But, as mentioned above, commodity spot prices haven't moved on the news, and neither has the China-based Dalian commodity futures exchange. In the futures market, iron ore, steel and coking coal are largely unchanged. 

London's FTSE 100 didn't take China's slump as a lead for its overnight session. The FTSE 100 materials sector finished 0.5 per cent higher, and BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto closed 1.1 per cent and 0.9 per cent higher respectively.