Global markets were steady but cautious this afternoon as investors weighed stretched tech valuations and upcoming US data. The ASX followed suit, trading in a tight range as weakness in local tech offset strength in gold and energy names. Turnover remained light, with traders preferring defensive sectors while awaiting clearer signals on rates and global earnings.
Stocks gave up early gains after the minutes of the Fed’s October meeting cast doubt on a December rate cut, adding to cautious sentiment on risk just ahead of key earnings from bellwether Nvidia.
The Australian sharemarket steadied near a six-month low on Wednesday, with modest gains in resources offset by continued weakness in the major banks. The S&P/ASX 200 inched up 0.1 per cent, or 5.4 points, to 8474.50 by midday AEDT, as investors remained cautious ahead of Nvidia’s closely watched earnings due Thursday morning.
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Tech led stocks, adding to recent losses as the selloff in AI related companies continued just a day ahead of key earnings from Nvidia and a long-awaited labour market reading for September due later this week.
The Australian sharemarket fell sharply on Tuesday, with the S&P/ASX 200 dropping 1.4 per cent to 8517.70 by midday AEDT—its weakest level since June. A steep sell-down in technology stocks led the decline, driven by investor caution ahead of Nvidia’s earnings and renewed uncertainty over the interest-rate outlook. The sector tumbled 5.4 per cent, with TechnologyOne plunging 14 per cent after its annual recurring revenue outlook disappointed, while WiseTech and Xero fell 5.1 per cent and 3.8 per cent respectively.
Stocks closed lower overnight as sentiment on the AI trade continued to sour amid growing concerns about valuations, with Nvidia leading the broader to the downside ahead of its quarterly results due later this week.
The Australian sharemarket edged lower on Monday, positioning the ASX 200 for its fifth straight decline — the longest losing run since June — as investors await the return of key US economic data following the government shutdown. By 2pm AEDT, the benchmark slipped 0.2 per cent to 8619.70, with seven of 11 sectors in negative territory, extending a 2.4 per cent slide across the current downturn.
Stocks closed mixed on Friday night, well off the lows of the session as investors bought the dip in AI-related stocks to spark a turnaround in tech and shrugged off concerns about waning odds of a December rate cut.
Tech stocks led the market lower as an ongoing rotation out of big tech and waning odds of a December rate cut weighed on sentiment even with the ending of the longest ever US government shutdown.
The Australian sharemarket slid sharply on Thursday after a stronger-than-expected jobs report dampened hopes of a 2025 interest-rate cut. The S&P/ASX 200 fell as much as 1 per cent to a 10-week low, with the unemployment rate unexpectedly dropping to 4.3 per cent in October alongside a 42,200 jobs surge. Money markets slashed the probability of a June RBA cut to 30 per cent, down from 80 per cent a week earlier.
The rotation to a more defensive stance continued overnight as investors rotated out of Tech into ahead of the confirmation of a deal to end the longest-ever federal government shutdown.
