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Nasdaq tumbles as investors sell off on tech stocks: ASX to open higher

The Nasdaq Composite slumped on Monday as investors sold shares of technology companies that have outperformed this year and the final trading week of the first half commenced.

The Nasdaq shed 1.16 per cent to settle at 13,335.78, while the S&P 500 lost 0.45 per cent to close at 4,328.82. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 12.72 points, or 0.04 per cent, to end at 33,714.71.

Technology stocks have rebounded this year after a difficult 2022 as investors bet on the promise of artificial intelligence and hope for an end to the Federal Reserve’s hiking campaign. Rotation back into popular growth names has lifted the Nasdaq 27.4 per cent, putting it on pace for its best first half since 1983.

Overall, a pullback in technology giants contributed heavily to the Nasdaq’s sharp decline. Nvidia, Alphabet and Meta Platforms lost more than 3 per cent each. Tesla sank 6 per cent as Goldman Sachs downgraded the electric car maker, citing pricing headwinds.

Other segments of the market are also on track for a banner first half even after the market rally stalled last week, and major averages snapped multi week win streaks. The S&P 500 has gained 12.7 per cent, while the Dow is up about 1.7 per cent.

In EV news, element 25 will supply manganese sulphate to General Motors for its North American electric vehicles, boosting the miner’s shares by over 20 per cent. This is GM’s second deal for Australian battery minerals, following their previous investment in Queensland Pacific Metals.

And UK lithium project developer Cornish Lithium is at risk of going bankrupt if it fails to secure a £10 million cash injection by next month. The company requires short-term funds to buy time for a longer-term financing arrangement.

The final week of June is a relatively light one for economics reports, highlighted by the personal consumption expenditures index for May out Friday. Corporate earnings reports are on deck from Walgreens Boots Alliance on Tuesday and Nike on Thursday.

Traders are monitoring the situation in Russia following a brief rebellion by a private military group over the weekend. Uncertainty about the situation there could keep the markets on edge.

And China’s renminbi has fallen to a seven-month low against the US dollar amid worries about slowing domestic growth, shrinking exports, and rising US interest rates.

Overall, US sectors were mixed overnight. Real Estate was the best performer, by far, whilst Consumer Discretionary.

Futures

The SPI futures are pointing to a 0.28 per cent rise.

Currency

One Australian dollar at 7:30 AM was buying 66.75 US cents.

Commodities

Gold has gained 0.22 per cent. Silver has gained 2.11 per cent. Copper has lost 0.29 per cent. Oil is up 0.30 per cent.

Figures around the globe

Across the Atlantic, European markets closed mixed yesterday. London’s FTSE fell 0.11 per cent and Frankfurt lost 0.11 per cent, while Paris closed 0.29 per cent higher.

Turning to Asian markets, Tokyo’s Nikkei lost 0.25 per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng lost 0.51 per cent and China’s Shanghai Composite closed 1.48 per cent lower..

Yesterday, the Australian sharemarket closed 0.29 per cent lower at 7,078.65.

Sources: Bloomberg, FactSet, IRESS, TradingView, UBS, Bourse Data, Trading Economics, CoinMarketCap.

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