The Nasdaq Composite slid for a third session in a row Wednesday.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 48.44 points, or 0.13 per cent, settling at 38,612.24. The S&P 500 gained 0.13 per cent to end at 4,981.80. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite lost 0.32 per cent to close at 15,580.87.
Nvidia achieved record-breaking revenue growth of 265 per cent, surpassing Wall Street’s expectations for both earnings and sales in its latest earnings report. The surge is attributed to the company’s dominant position in supplying high-performance graphics processors for servers powering large artificial intelligence models, reflecting the technology industry’s heightened focus on AI applications.
Elsewhere in corporate news, Palo Alto Networks shed more than 28.4 per cent after the cybersecurity company cut its full-year revenue guidance. SolarEdge Technologies lost roughly 12.2 per cent, dropping on weak first-quarter guidance.
Minutes released Wednesday from the Federal Reserve’s January meeting—which came on the back of hotter-than-expected economic data the previous week—indicated that central bankers are in no hurry to cut interest rates. Fed officials had decided to leave their key overnight borrowing rate unchanged, and also indicated that no rate cuts would occur until the Federal Open Market Committee has “greater confidence” that inflation is slowing down.
Oil prices rose on Wednesday following indications from Federal Reserve officials suggesting that interest rates have reached their peak, with West Texas Intermediate settling at $77.91 a barrel and Brent futures at $83.03 a barrel. The rise coincides with Fed minutes revealing agreement among officials that rates should not be cut until there’s greater confidence in controlling inflation, amidst ongoing tensions in the Middle East involving Israel, Hezbollah, Houthi militants, and Iran.
Turning to US sectors, all closed higher overnight except for Tech. Energy was the best performer.
In the Australian landscape, Rio Tinto announced a 12 per cent decline in underlying profit post-Wednesday’s market close, attributed to softer commodity prices and escalating costs, alongside a final dividend payout of US$2.58 per share.
Meanwhile, Saint-Gobain unveiled a $4.3 billion bid for CSR, securing due diligence from the ASX-listed company’s board with a $9 per share offer.
On Thursday, various companies including APA Group, Fortescue, Qantas, and The Reject Shop are anticipated to report.
Futures
The SPI futures are pointing to a 0.3 per cent fall.
Currency
One Australian dollar at 8.30am was buying 65.48 US cents.
Commodities
Gold lost 0.23 per cent. Silver fell 0.89 per cent. Copper added 0.45 per cent. Oil gained 1.30 per cent.
Figures around the globe
European markets closed mixed. London’s FTSE fell 0.73 per cent, Frankfurt added 0.29 per cent, and Paris gained 0.22 per cent.
Turning to Asian markets, Tokyo’s Nikkei fell 0.26 per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gained 1.57 per cent and China’s Shanghai Composite added 0.97 per cent..
Yesterday, the Australian share market closed 0.66 per cent lower at 7,608.36.
Ex-dividends
Australian United Investment Company (ASX:AUI) is paying 17 cents fully franked
Bendigo and Adelaide Bank (ASX:BEN) is paying 30 cents fully franked
Deterra (ASX:DRR) is paying 14.89 cents fully franked
Diversified United (ASX:DUI) is paying 7 cents fully franked
JB Hi-Fi Limited (ASX:JBH) is paying 158 cents fully franked
Microequities Asset Management Group (ASX:MAM) is paying 1.8 cents fully franked
Virgin Money Uk PLC (ASX:VUK) is paying 3.8153 cents unfranked
Whitehaven Coal (ASX:WHC) is paying 7 cents fully franked
Dividends payable
5G Networks Ltd (ASX:5GN)
Dexus Industria REIT (ASX:DXI)
Dexus Convenience Retail REIT (ASX:DXC)
Sources: Bloomberg, FactSet, IRESS, TradingView, UBS, Bourse Data, Trading Economics, CoinMarketCap.
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