ASX Set for Flat Open as Wall Street Gains on SpaceX, Capital One Earnings; Meta Faces EU Order

The Quick Take

• ASX futures pointed to a flat open after Wall Street rose on strong earnings from SpaceX and Capital One Financial.
• SpaceX shares surged 7% after beating revenue estimates, lifting sentiment in the technology and high-growth sector broadly.
• Meta Platforms was ordered by an EU court to restrict data processing, adding a regulatory overhang to the upcoming earnings report.

Wall Street's rally on strong SpaceX and Capital One earnings provided the positive sentiment backdrop for global equity markets overnight, though Australian investors face a more cautious opening given the ASX's heavier exposure to resources and financials relative to US technology stocks. Capital One's earnings beat confirmed healthy credit card spending and manageable delinquency trends in the US consumer sector, supporting banks and payment processors across global markets. SpaceX's 7% post-earnings surge extended the technology-driven risk appetite that has characterised recent trading sessions, with investor focus now pivoting to Tesla and Meta Platforms' upcoming quarterly results as the next key catalysts.

The Meta EU court ruling ordering restrictions on personal data processing for advertising purposes introduces a meaningful regulatory variable for investors ahead of Meta's earnings. While Meta has navigated previous privacy rulings by adjusting its ad targeting systems incrementally, a broad restriction on data processing in European markets could reduce advertising revenue contribution from one of its highest-value demographics. Australian technology and media stocks with advertising revenue exposure will watch the Meta ruling closely for precedent implications under Australia's own evolving privacy legislation framework. The ASX's flat open despite positive US cues reflects the index's structural underweight to growth technology versus value and commodities.

The forward signal to watch is Meta's Q3 2026 earnings — the first major social media quarterly result of the season — which will test whether digital advertising revenue growth has sustained the pace that drove Meta's exceptional 2026 re-rating. The EU data ruling's immediate financial impact will be quantified in Meta management's guidance commentary, which is the highest-quality indicator of how the company expects regulatory headwinds to affect its 2027 revenue trajectory. Domestically for the ASX, the next commodity price cycle reading — particularly iron ore and coal — will determine whether Australian resources stocks can overcome the technology sector's gravitational pull on global equity sentiment.

Synthesized from 2 sources.