Note: Figures recorded at 7:40am AEDT. Updated figures and a video recording will be available at 9am AEDT.
US stocks fell Tuesday led by Nvidia and a broader tech decline ahead of the chipmaker’s earnings report.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 35 points, or about 0.1%. The S&P 500 slipped about 0.6%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite lost 1.1%.
Shares of Nvidia, which is set to report earnings Wednesday after the bell, fell nearly 5%. Shares of Apple, Microsoft and Meta each lost about 0.8%. Although Nvidia is expected to post impressive results, the market remains concerned about valuation levels in the stock. Nvidia has added more than 37% so far this year, while its peers Meta and Amazon have gained 32% and 9%, respectively.
Financial stocks were also in focus on Tuesday following Capital One Financial’s announcement that it has agreed to purchase Discover Financial Services in an all-stock deal worth US$35.3 billion. Capital One added less than 1% following the announcement, while Discover jumped more than 12.5%.
In other news, Walmart announced it will acquire TV maker Vizio for $2.3 billion, or $11.50 a share, leading shares of Vizio to climb higher by about 16%. Walmart shares added more than 3.5% after the retailer also beat quarterly earnings and revenue expectations, fueled by double-digit growth in the company’s global e-commerce sales.
The US listed shares of both BHP and Rio Tinto were sharply lower in line with a 5.1 per cent plunge in the spot price of iron ore in Singapore trade on Tuesday after China’s central bank unexpectedly cut its key five-year loan prime rate. Demand for iron ore remains weak as China steelmakers are still suffering negative margins when selling their finished steel.
In Australia, companies due to report results on Wednesday include Charter Hall Group, Domino’s Pizza, Lottery Corporation, Iluka Resources, National Australia Bank, Peter Warren Automotive, Rio Tinto, Santos, Scentre Group, Stockland, Ventia Services, Viva Energy, Wagners, WiseTech, Woolworths
Currency
One Australian dollar at 7.40am was buying 65.55 US cents.
Figures around the globe
European markets closed mixed. London’s FTSE fell 0.12 per cent, Frankfurt lost 0.14 per cent, and Paris gained 0.34 per cent.
Turning to Asian markets, Tokyo’s Nikkei fell 0.28 per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng added 0.57 per cent and China’s Shanghai Composite added 0.42 per cent..
Yesterday, the Australian share market closed 0.08 per cent lower at 7,659.05.
Ex-dividends
AGL Energy Limited (ASX:AGL) is paying 26 cents unfranked
Commonwealth Bank (ASX:CBA) is paying 215 cents fully franked
GQG Partners (ASX:GQG) is paying 2.8065 cents unfranked
Insurance Australia (ASX:IAG) is paying 10 cents 40 per cent franked
Dividends payable
HomeCo Daily Needs REIT (ASX:HDN)
HealthCo Healthcare and Wellness REIT (ASX:HCW)
Sources: Bloomberg, FactSet, IRESS, TradingView, UBS, Bourse Data, Trading Economics, CoinMarketCap.
