Five things to watch on the ASX today

Here are five things that could shape today’s trade: Will there be more gains on Wednesday?

On Tuesday the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) rebounded from Monday’s heavy decline with a 0.2% gain to 6,013.6 points.

ASX futures are pointing lower.
According to the latest SPI futures, the Australian share market is expected to open the day deep in the red. Futures currently point to a 47-point or 0.8% decline at the open following a tough night of trade on Wall Street.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.6%, the S&P 500 dropped 1.2%, and the Nasdaq was down 0.5%. Political turmoil in Italy is behind the decline.

Turmoil in Italy spooks markets.
After weeks of negotiations for a populist coalition government to take shape, the president of Italy has controversially vetoed it.

This has left the country with an interim government before fresh elections take place early next year. There are concerns that the uncertainty that this has caused could lead to anti-EU parties winning even more votes if a fresh vote is held, sparking fears that Italy could follow the United Kingdom out of the European Union.

Cryptocurrency markets rebound.
The political turmoil in Italy has given cryptocurrency markets a much-needed boost.

After a series of heavy declines, Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), and Ripple (XRP) all bounced back strongly during overnight trade just as markets started to crumble.

This is because some traders see cryptocurrencies as the new gold and a safe haven asset. This will be good news for blockchain and crypto company Digitalx Ltd (ASX: DCC).

Its shares have almost halved in value in the space of a month following the crypto meltdown.

Bank shares will be on watch.
The shares of Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ASX: ANZ) and Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) will be on watch today after heavy declines in the U.S. banking sector overnight.

Concerns over a global credit blight and anaemic interest rates weighed on financial markets and led to many of the United States’ major banks falling 3% or more.

Oil prices mixed.
Energy shares such as Beach Energy Ltd (ASX: BPT) and Oil Search Limited (ASX: OSH) will be under the spotlight again after a mixed night of trade for oil prices. According to Bloomberg, WTI crude has continued its decline and is down 1.5% to US$66.87 a barrel.

Brent crude oil has edged 0.1% higher to US$75.38 a barrel.

US futures rise sharply as tax plan optimism boosts sentiment

Global Stock Markets

Expectations that the tax bill will be approved has boosted markets both Stateside and in other regions. Data and earnings will also be of key importance.

U.S. stock index futures are set for a strong positive open on Monday, on the back of optimism surrounding an overhaul of the U.S. tax system.

In markets overseas, stocks traded sharply higher during each of their Monday sessions. Investor sentiment was lifted on growing confidence that a U.S. tax cut plan is nearing approval.

On Friday, Republicans released their final proposal to overhaul the American tax system, which would slash corporation taxes, while trimming rates for individuals and modify tax deductions. The House and Senate GOP are looking to pass the measure this week.

Expectations that the tax bill will be approved boosted U.S. stocks on Friday, with markets closing higher, while markets overseas rallied on Monday — leading Dow Jones industrial average futures to leap more than 100 points in premarket trading in New York.

Another area that's shaking up market sentiment is the moves in bitcoin. On Sunday the world's largest futures exchange, CME, launched its own bitcoin futures contract, using the ticker "BTC."

US STOCKS SNAPSHOT-Dow drops 100 pts on N.Korea missile test

U.S. stocks opened sharply lower on Tuesday, with the Dow losing more than 100 points, as North Korea’s missile test over Japan escalated tensions with the United States, and President Donald Trump warned that “all options are on the table”.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 123.16 points, or 0.56 percent, to 21,685.24. The S&P 500 lost 15.85 points, or 0.648463 percent, to 2,428.39. 

The Dow e-minis were down 108 points, while the Nasdaq 100 e-minis were down 46 points.

The Nasdaq Composite dropped 53.68 points, or 0.85 percent, to 6,229.34.

Dow e-minis were down 108 points, or 0.5 percent, with 51,360 contracts changing hands.

S&P 500 e-minis were down 13.25 points, or 0.54 percent, with 363,037 contracts traded.

Nasdaq 100 e-minis were down 46 points, or 0.79 percent, on volume of 67,545 contracts.

U.S.-listed shares of gold miners including Kinross Gold and Harmony Gold were up about 5 percent in premarket trading. 

Dow component Nike fell 2.31 percent after Morgan Stanley cut its price target by $4 to $64. 

Finish Line plunged about 29 percent after the sporting goods retailer cut its full-year profit forecast and adopted a poison pill. 

Electronics retailer Best Buy were down about 1 percent despite raising its full-year revenue forecast.

Asian shares slide as tech shares crumble after Dow hits 22,000

Asian shares slid on Thursday, led by falls in South Korean tech shares, as investors locked in recent gains after Wall Street's Dow Jones Industrial Average broke the 22,000 barrier for the first time in its 121-year history.

Spreadbetters expected European stocks to follow suit, predicting Britain's FTSE and Germany's DAX to both open about 0.1 percent lower while forecasting a flat open for France's CAC. 

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan dropped 0.6 percent, with South Korea's tech-heavy Kospi index on course to drop 1.6 percent. 

Samsung Electronics, which last Friday posted its biggest daily fall since October, slid 2.3 percent, giving up the gains made so far this week. SK Hynix dropped 2.9 percent.

Some Seoul shares took an additional hit from President Moon Jae-in's new tax plan.

Japan's Nikkei dropped 0.3 percent. 

In New York overnight, the Dow Jones Industrial Average topped the 22,000 mark for the first time on the strength in Apple shares following its earnings. 

The S&P 500 gained 0.05 percent, hovering just below its record high touched last week, supported by upbeat earnings and rising expectations that the Federal Reserve's policy tightening will move ahead only slowly. 

U.S. inflation has been contained even as the country's labor market appears to be in its best shape in many years, with the jobless rate staying near a 17-year low. 

A report by private payrolls processor ADP showed on Wednesday that private U.S. employers added 178,000 jobs in July, slightly below economists' expectations, although payroll gains in June were revised up to 191,000 from an originally reported 158,000. 

Market participants expect the more closely watched government employment report due on Friday to show a solid expansion in U.S. job creation.