Investing.com - Australian stocks are gearing up for a subdued open, as US stocks saw a downturn at the closing bell. Investor sentiment was seemingly dented by the latest quarterly reports from tech giants Tesla and Alphabet.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 is projected to open with a modest 0.1% rise.
This follows a slight drop in US markets, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500, and tech-focused NASDAQ Composite all losing ground.
Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) second-quarter profit report, released after the close of trade, fell short of Wall Street's expectations, marking a continuation of the company's challenging year characterized by slower sales and widespread layoffs. The electric vehicle manufacturer's adjusted earnings of US52¢ per share missed analysts' estimated US60¢, marking the fourth consecutive miss for the company.
On the other hand, Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL), Google's parent company, reported slightly better-than-expected profit and revenue for the quarter, despite its shares retreating in after-hours trading. The tech giant reported earnings per share of $US1.89 on revenue of $US84.7 billion, slightly surpassing estimates of $US1.85 per share on revenue of $US84.3 billion, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
In commodity markets, oil prices fell for the fourth consecutive session, marking the longest losing streak since early June, and settled below $US77 a barrel. Meanwhile, iron ore edged towards $US100 a tonne in Singapore after falling more than 2%.
In local news, Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX:PLS) reported a 58% surge in revenue to $305 million for the June quarter, according to the lithium exporter's latest trading update.
On the bond markets, Australian 10-year and 2-year rates were at 4.37% and 4.2%, respectively.