Investing.com - The Australian Stock Exchange fell 0.2% at Wednesday's open, following a mixed session on Wall Street, with the Dow Jones and S&P 500 both experiencing minor declines.
The primary point of interest for local investors today will be the release of the monthly Consumer Price Index report at 11.30 am AEDT.
After propelling New York's market upwards in the previous session, tech stocks largely retreated. However, NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) continued its upward trajectory, registering a 1.7% increase. Tech giants Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ:AMZN) and Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) also recorded gains of at least 1.4% each.
Smaller tech firms also showcased strong performances, with cybersecurity company CrowdStrike Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:CRWD) continuing its upward trend from the previous day with a nearly 5% increase. Other significant gainers included Zscaler Inc (NASDAQ:ZS) and Palo Alto Networks Inc (NASDAQ:PANW).
In the recently released Global Economics Prospects report, the World Bank projected that global growth would decelerate to 2.4% in 2024, down from 2.6% in 2023. The report also highlighted a gloomy medium-term outlook for many developing economies, as major economies are experiencing slowed growth, global trade remains sluggish, and financial conditions are the tightest they've been in decades.
Nickel mining companies are bracing for potential job cuts following the decision by Panoramic Resources Ltd (ASX:PAN) to halt production. The metal's supply is anticipated to exceed demand by 239,000 tonnes this year due to increased operations in Indonesia, which is expected to significantly depress prices.
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ASX 200 Futures were observed to be down by 12 points, marking a 0.2% decrease to 7481. The Australian dollar also experienced a dip, falling by 0.5% to reach 66.87 US cents. Furthermore, Bitcoin decreased by 2.3% to stand at $US45,970 as of 8.30 am AEDT.
On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 saw a decrease by 0.4% and 0.2% respectively, while the NASDAQ Composite experienced a marginal increase of 0.1%. In New York, BHP Group Ltd (ASX:BHP) shares fell by 2.2%, Rio Tinto Ltd (ASX:RIO) by 2.7%, and Atlassian Corp Plc (NASDAQ:TEAM) by 0.1%. Tech giants also saw mixed results with Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) and Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) shares falling by 2.3% and 0.2% respectively, while Amazon and Nvidia saw an increase, with Amazon going up by 1.5% and Nvidia by 1.7%.
Commodities also experienced some fluctuations, with spot gold dipping by 0.1% to $US2027.07 per ounce. In contrast, Brent crude experienced a rise of 2.2% to reach $US77.80 a barrel. However, iron ore prices fell by 0.4% to $US137.40 a tonne.
Lastly, the yields on 10-year bonds varied across countries. The United States recorded a yield of 4.02%, Australia saw a slightly higher yield at 4.10%, and Germany had a yield of 2.19%.