At 11:30am, the S&P/ASX 200 is 0.35 per cent lower at 7,722.30, following Wall Street’s surge to record highs, driven by increased investor confidence in companies poised to benefit from artificial intelligence.
Nvidia and Apple saw gains, while Broadcom and Adobe surged significantly post-market.
Additionally, Tesla’s stock rose after shareholders approved Elon Musk’s controversial $US56 billion pay package. In Europe, stocks fell due to the upset victory of Marine Le Pen’s National Rally over Emmanuel Macron’s centrist alliance in the European Parliament ballot, leading to political upheaval as parties mobilize for upcoming elections.
The SPI futures are pointing to a fall of 32 points.
Best and worst performers
The best-performing sector is Utilities, up 0.27 per cent. The worst-performing sector is Industrials, down 0.91 per cent.
The best-performing large cap is Yancoal Australia (ASX:YAL), trading 0.97 per cent higher at $6.26. It is followed by shares in Meridian Energy (ASX:MEZ) and Mercury NZ (ASX:MCY).
The worst-performing large cap is Evolution Mining (ASX:EVN), trading 3.23 per cent lower at $3.59. It is followed by shares in Northern Star Resources (ASX:NST) and ASX (ASX:ASX).
Commodities and the dollar
Gold is trading at US$2319.80 an ounce.
Iron ore is 1.4 per cent higher at US$106.60 a tonne.
Iron ore futures are pointing to a 1.1 per cent rise.
One Australian dollar is buying 66.30 US cents.