Investing.com - Predictions point to a decline in Australian shares, mirroring the situation in New York where the market surge has temporarily halted.
ASX 200 Futures down were by 11 points or 0.2% to 7075 around 8:20 am AEDT.
On the data front, the number of jobless claims in the US has hit a near two-year peak, indicating a potential slowdown in the economy. The retail giant, Walmart Inc (NYSE:WMT), saw its shares dip following a guarded tone in its recent financial report.
Oil prices faced another setback with US stockpiles reaching their highest since August. This, coupled with renewed worries about global demand, has led traders to anticipate extended production cuts from Saudi Arabia and Russia into 2024.
Jupiter Mines Ltd (ASX:JMS), a leading mining company, is expected to release a sales update on Friday. Several companies, including Abacus Property Group (ASX:ABG), Accent Group Ltd (ASX:AX1), Centuria Capital Ltd (ASX:CNI), Ingenia Communities Group (ASX:INA), Lend Lease Group (ASX:LLC), and Resmed Inc DRC (ASX:RMD), are holding their annual meetings. Meanwhile, Washington H Soul Pattinson&Co Ltd (ASX:SOL) will trade ex-dividend.
Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile SA Pref B (SN:SQMB), a Chilean mining company and the world's second-largest lithium producer, warned that the continuing excess inventory and increased supply would continue to negatively affect lithium prices. SQM is currently pursuing a $1.6 billion acquisition of Azure Minerals.
In the latest market highlights, the Australian dollar fell by 0.6% to 64.70 US cents, and Bitcoin experienced a 4.8% decrease to $US35,829; additionally, the Dow was down by 0.3%, the S&P 500 by 0.03%, and the NASDAQ Composite by 0.1%, whereas, in New York, BHP (ASX:BHP) Group Ltd (NYSE:BHP), Rio Tinto (NYSE:RIO), and Atlassian Corp (NASDAQ:TEAM) saw a drop of 0.5%, 0.3% and 0.8% respectively, and tech giants posted mixed results with Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) down by 4.3%, Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) up by 0.7%, Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) down by 0.6%, and Cisco Systems Inc (NASDAQ:CSCO) down by a substantial 11.5%.
The Wall Street rally faced a stumbling block due to a combination of data as well as revenue reports and cautious forecasts from Cisco and Walmart. Walmart shares took a hit, dropping as much as 8.1% as the retailer expressed concerns about the outlook for US consumers following signs of a slump in the second half of October.
On a positive note, Macy's (NYSE:M) reported a third-quarter profit that exceeded expectations due to improved inventory management, even though same-store sales dropped for the third consecutive quarter.
Looking ahead, the Sohn Hearts & Minds conference in Sydney will feature speakers such as Dan Loeb and Cathie Wood. Also, New Zealand's third-quarter PPI is set to be released at 8.45am.