The ASX200 will start trading in the red, if ASX Futures are anything to go by, trading down 0.9% to 7,796 points at 8:40 am today after Wall Street indices fell overnight.
US markets were setting new record highs on Tuesday, with the Dow Jones pushing through 40,000 points to close above that milestone for the first time – a strong indicator that blue chip stocks are on the up, alongside everything else.
Yesterday, however, the S&P500 fell from an all-time high, slipping 12.4 points or 0.3%. The Dow also dipped, down 0.5% while the Nasdaq shed 0.2%
Markets were fairly subdued in early trading, but the bottom fell out when the Federal Reserve released its latest policy meeting minutes, which suggested officials believe it “would likely take longer than previously thought” to tame inflation.
It wasn’t all doom and gloom, though.
Nvidia released its earnings report overnight, smashing the consensus estimate and lifting its shares beyond US$1,000 each for the first time.
Nvidia delivers on earnings
"Nvidia has delivered once again,” writes eToro market analyst Josh Gilbert.
“Jensen Huang and his team are taking full advantage of the artificial intelligence boom, reporting revenue and earnings well above forecast while upgrading its second-quarter guidance.
“Data centre revenue jumped by more than 400% in the quarter to a huge US$22.5 billion.
“The result today once again underscores that there is continued demand for AI, and that demand is showing no signs of abating.
“Companies are continuing to increase their capital expenditures, particularly big tech, to keep up with this revolutionary technology, and Nvidia is by far the biggest beneficiary. The exciting prospect for investors is that it feels like AI is just getting started.
“Not only is Nvidia rewarding its shareholders, it's one of the main profit growth drivers of the S&P500. It’s supporting broader technology stocks and this result will likely lay the groundwork for another record high from the S&P500.
“Valuation question marks will remain but there is no denying the growth that Nvidia continues to deliver.
“To add to another stellar report, Nvidia announced free cash flow of US$14.93 billion, up 461% year-over-year, resulting in a 150% increase in its dividend.
“With shares now topping the US$1000 mark in after-hours trade, the business has also announced a 10-1 stock split to ensure the stock remains accessible for investors and should only improve sentiment."
Currencies and commodities
The US dollar gained against most major currencies overnight.
The Aussie dollar fell from an intraday high of US$0.6681 to US$0.6609 at the end of the session. The Euro also slid 0.3%, landing below US$1.0850 at close, while the yen continued to show weakness, falling from near 156.778 Japanese yen per US dollar to 156.73 yen by close.
Oil fell across the board, with West Texas dipping 2.13$ to US$77.57 a barrel and Brent crude dipping 1.4% to $US81.73 per barrel.
Copper Futures fell 5.04%, aluminium futures 2.72% and gold 1.36%, pulling back to US$2,392.89 an ounce but still remaining near all-time highs.
Iron ore managed a small lift, gaining 0.06% to US$117.64 a tonne.
On the small cap front
The ASX Small Ordinaries fell 0.41% yesterday, unable to match the ASX200’s flat 7-point lift.
You can read about the following and more throughout the day on our website.