AU Morning Wrap | ASX 200 edges lower; RBA minutes in focus

U.S. stocks kicked off the holiday-shortened week on a positive note, with tech giants leading the charge. The $S&P 500 Index (.SPX.US)$ gained 0.73%, closing at 5,974.07, while the $Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI.US)$ added 0.16% to reach 42,906.95. The tech-heavy $Nasdaq Composite Index (.IXIC.US)$ outperformed, climbing 0.98% to 19,764.89.

Tech behemoths $Tesla (TSLA.US)$, $Meta Platforms (META.US)$, and $NVIDIA (NVDA.US)$ each surged over 2%, propelling the market higher. However, Treasury yields also climbed, with the 10-year rate approaching a seven-month peak of 4.6%, following a dip in U.S. consumer confidence.

Australia's $S&P/ASX 200 (.XJO.AU)$ opened slightly lower on Tuesday. The benchmark index edged down 0.02% to 8200,2 points in early trading, as investors showed caution amid thinned holiday-week trading volumes.

As of latest data, $比特币(BTC.CC)$ is priced at A$94,590.03, down 0.57% in the past 24 hours, while $以太坊(ETH.CC)$ is priced at $3,414.85, up 4.14% in the past 24 hours.

$St Barbara Ltd (SBM.AU)$ shares dropped 33.77% to A$0.202. The company's Papua New Guinea subsidiary faced a 523.1 million kina tax assessment, which it strongly disputes. St Barbara plans to file a formal objection within the 60-day period allowed.

$Paladin Energy Ltd (PDN.AU)$ shares rose 2.05% to A$7.96 on Tuesday after finalizing its acquisition of Fission Uranium. The deal, offering 0.1076 Paladin shares per Fission share, led to Fission's delisting from the Toronto Stock Exchange. Paladin is expected to start trading on the TSX around December 27 under the ticker "PDN".

$GenusPlus Group Ltd (GNP.AU)$ shares rose 2.86% to A$2.52. The company secured a two-part contract with TasNetworks for the North West Transmission Developments project. The first part, worth AU$42 million, covers early contractor involvement. Full project implementation remains subject to various approvals and regulatory decisions.