Investing.com - Australian shares fell 0.5% at Wednesday's open, mirroring losses on Wall Street overnight. The three main US indices were in the red, with Nvidia's stock price taking a hit ahead of its quarterly results announcement.
Most of the top-tier tech stocks, including Nvidia and Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA), experienced declines, whereas Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) saw a slight uptick. Smaller tech companies like AMD (NASDAQ:AMD), Arm Holdings (NASDAQ:ARM), Palantir Technologies Inc (NYSE:PLTR), and Super Micro Computer Inc (NASDAQ:SMCI) also faced losses.
In contrast, Walmart (NYSE:WMT) exceeded Wall Street's Q4 expectations as selective consumers continued their purchasing spree, reinforcing the company's positive outlook on the US economy. Sales and profit surpassed analysts' predictions, with the retail giant gaining market share, particularly among households with an annual income exceeding $US100,000. E-commerce sales increased beyond expectations, and more customers are opting for same-day and express deliveries.
Investor apprehension grew in anticipation of Nvidia's quarterly results, set to be released on Thursday AEDT. The semiconductor chipmaker's shares fell by more than 6%, causing it to lose ground to both Alphabet and Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) in terms of overall market value.
In a bid to reinvigorate semiconductor manufacturing on US soil, the Biden administration is reportedly discussing over $US10 billion in subsidies for Intel (NASDAQ:INTC), which would be the largest award under the plan. Additionally, GlobalFoundries (NASDAQ:GFS), the largest domestic maker of custom semiconductors, is set to receive $US1.5 billion.
BHP (ASX:BHP) and Rio Tinto (ASX:RIO) US-listed shares also took a significant hit following a 5.1% drop in iron ore's spot price. This unexpected fall came after China's central bank made its largest cut to the key five-year loan prime rate since the LPR-setting mechanism was reformed in 2019.
Companies such as Charter Hall Group, Domino’s Pizza (NYSE:DPZ), Lottery Corporation Ltd (ASX:TLC), Iluka Resources Ltd (ASX:ILU), National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX:NAB), Peter Warren Automotive Holdings Ltd (ASX:PWR), Rio Tinto Ltd (ASX:RIO), Santos Ltd (ASX:STO), Scentre Group Ltd (ASX:SCG), Stockland Corporation Ltd (ASX:SGP), Ventia Services Group Ltd (ASX:VNT), Viva Energy Group Ltd (ASX:VEA), Wagners Holding Company Ltd (ASX:WGN), Wisetech Global Ltd (ASX:WTC), and Woolworths Ltd (ASX:WOW) are set to report their results on Wednesday.
ASX 200 Futures were down 24 points or 0.3% to 7581 as of 7 am AEDT. The Australian dollar rose 0.2% to 65.50 US cents, while Bitcoin saw a 0.4% increase to $US52,028.
On Wall Street, the Dow Jones fell 0.1%, the S&P 500 was down 0.6%, and the Nasdaq dropped 1.1%. Brent crude oil was down 1.3% to $US82.50 a barrel, while iron ore fell 5.1% to $US120.85 a tonne.
Today's agenda includes the NZ fourth quarter PPI, Australia's Westpac leading index, and the fourth quarter wage price index. Overseas data to watch out for include the UK's January public sector borrowing and Eurozone's February consumer confidence.