Outlook for the day: Neutral/mildly negative after miners outperform in a falling US market.
ASX futures: down 3 points or 0.04%
Overnight themes:
US stocks sink as megacap tech earnings continue to disappoint, while evidence of economic strength sharpens fears of more rate hikes. Losses deepen in the final hour of trade as an attempted rebound fails.
The Nasdaq drops deeper into correction territory, breaching its 200-day moving average for the first time since March. The S&P 500 also nears correction territory.
Shares in Meta Platforms shed 3.73% as questions about rising costs and advertising weakness offset an earnings beat. Alphabet declines 2.65% a day after losing 9.51% as cloud computing revenues disappointed.
The US economy again defies fears of a slowdown, keeping interest rate hikes on the table. Gross domestic product increases by an annualised 4.9% in the third quarter, the strongest growth since 2021. Economists had expected milder growth of 4.3%.
Wages grow more than inflation, fuelling a 4% rise in consumer spending.
"Ironically, while the numbers are strong they exacerbate investor concerns about the Fed staying higher for longer with respect to interest rates" - Greg Bassuk, chief executive officer at AXS Investments.
A retreat in treasury yields fails to stem the blood-letting in stocks. The yield on 10-year US treasuries eases 11 basis points to 4.855% after cracking 5% last week.
Oil drops to a two-week low as the "war premium" from events in Gaza continues to dissipate.
Iron ore nears US$120 a ton as optimism over China stimulus measures outweighs questions about its struggling property market and the risk of steel production curbs across winter.
Three US sectors resist the selling: real estate +2.15%, utilities +0.86% and materials +0.72%. Growth sectors fall hardest. Tech loses 2.17%.
Key events today:
Wholesale inflation data - 11.30 am AEDT
US inflation data (Personal Consumption Expenditures), consumer sentiment - tonight
S&P 500: down 50 points or 1.18%
Dow: down 252 points or 0.76%
Nasdaq: down 226 points or 1.76%
Dollar: up 0.33% to 63.14 US cents
Iron ore (Dalian): up 0.7% to US$119.76
Brent crude: down US$2.20 or 2.4% to US$87.93
Gold: up US$2.50 or 0.12% to US$1,997.40
NYSE Arca Gold Bugs: down 0.59%
Copper (LME): down 0.55% to US$7,988
Nickel (LME): down 1.1% to US$18,005
Lithium carbonate (China spot): down 0.59% to US$23,404
