Australia

Australian shares are set to open higher, after technology stocks dragged the US market down on Friday.

ASX futures were up 0.35% or 27 points as of 8:00am on Monday, suggesting a higher open.

US stock indexes mostly fell as corporations faced the threat of high interest rates for longer. An Israeli strike against Iran overnight added to markets woes.

Nasdaq fell 5.5% this week, the S&P 500 lost 3% and the DJIA was flat, after gaining 0.6% today. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq closed down every day of the week.

In commodity markets, Brent crude oil was up 0.2% to US$87.29 a barrel, while gold was up 0.5% at US$2,391.93.

In local bond markets, the yield on Australian 2 Year government bonds was down at 3.87% while the 10 Year yield was also down at 4.25%. US Treasury notes were flat, with the 2 Year yield at 4.99% and the 10 Year yield at 4.62%.

The Australian dollar was 64.17 US cents. The Wall Street Journal Dollar Index, which tracks the US dollar against 16 other currencies, was down at 100.47.

Asia

Chinese shares ended lower amid risk-off sentiment after Israel launched retaliatory strike against Iran. Consumer services and semiconductor shares led the losses. Semiconductors stocks fell broadly after TSMC lowered its outlook on the chip sector's growth in 2024 amid tepid consumer demand. Hygon Information Technology dropped 4.8% and NAURA Technology Group was down 2.2%. China Tourism Group Duty Free Corp. shed 5.3%. Energy stocks rose amid supply concerns with the escalation of the Middle East conflict. PetroChina was 2.8% higher and Cnooc advanced 3.95%. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index was 0.3% lower, the Shenzhen Composite Index dropped 0.7%; the ChiNext Price Index was off by 1.8%.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index closed 1.0% lower at 16224.14 on weaker investor sentiment. News of Israel's attack on Iran resulted in risk-off sentiment across markets, ANZ research analyst Khoon Goh says. Among the decliners, Li Auto fell 7.4%, Sunny Optical Technology lost 4.9% and Wuxi Biologics shed 4.7%. Oil stocks bucked the trend after Middle East tensions caused a spike in oil prices. PetroChina gained 2.3%, Sinopec rose 1.5% and Cnooc was 1.2% higher. The Hang Seng Tech Index fell 2.35%.

The Nikkei Stock Average ended 2.7% lower at 37068.35, marking the biggest percentage drop since September 2022. Tech and chip-related stocks led the declines after Israel's strike against Iran stoked fears about a widening conflict in the Middle East. Lasertec dropped 8.4% and Rakuten Group shed 5.2%. Investors are focusing on developments in the Middle East and their impact on bonds and crude oil prices. The 10-year Japanese government bond yield fell three basis points to 0.835%.

Indian shares closed higher, reversing earlier losses, with investors focused on developments in the Middle East. Almost all sectors advanced, with finance and bank stocks leading gains. Bajaj Finance rose 3.2% and HDFC Bank was 2.5% higher. Infosys was down 0.6% even after 4Q net profit climbed 30% on year. Hindustan Zinc was 1.5% lower after net profit dropped 21% in 4Q. Wipro gained 1.9% despite 4Q net profit falling 7.8%. The benchmark Sensex ended 0.8% higher at 73088.33.

Europe

European shares finished the week mostly flat, with the pan-European Stoxx Europe 600 down 0.1% to 499.29, the CAC 40 at 8,022.41 and Germany's DAX losing 0.6% to 17,737.36.

The FTSE 100 closed up 0.2% to finish at 7,895.85.

North America

US stock indexes mostly fell as corporations faced the threat of high interest rates for longer. An Israeli strike against Iran overnight added to markets woes.

Nasdaq fell 5.5% this week, the S&P 500 lost 3% and the DJIA was flat, after gaining 0.6% today. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq closed down every day of the week.

Netflix reported better-than-expected earnings and smashed subscriber growth estimates in the first quarter but the streaming giant issued second-quarter revenue guidance of about $9.49 billion, below analysts' forecasts of $9.53 billion. Netflix also said it planned to stop providing quarterly membership data and average revenue generated per member. The metric always has been the most closely watched for Netflix investors. The stock dropped 9.1%.

Super Micro Computer plunged 23% after the artificial-intelligence hardware company appeared to have decided not to pre-announce its earnings for the fiscal third quarter. In seven of the past eight quarters, according to reporter Eric Savitz of Barron's, Super Micro issued a press release announcing preliminary results ahead of its routine earnings release, generally raising financial guidance.

Paramount Global jumped 13% following a report from the New York Times that said Sony's movie studio division was in talks with Apollo Global Management about joining a bid for Paramount. The report came after The Wall Street Journal said earlier this month that members of Paramount's board and Skydance Media had agreed to start exclusive merger discussions.

American Express rose 6.2%. The credit card giant reported an increase in first-quarter profit and revenue as overall spending by Amex cardmembers, who tend to be more affluent, rose.

Trump Media & Technology Group rose 9.6%. Shares of the parent company of the Truth Social platform jumped 26% on Thursday, building on a gain Wednesday of 16%, and wiping out its losses for the week. CEO Devin Nunes, in a letter to the chair of the Nasdaq Stock Exchange dated Thursday, claimed that Trump Media stock could be the target of "naked" short selling, the illegal practice of short selling without actually borrowing the shares.

Tesla dipped 1.9% after the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration disclosed a recall of 3,878 Cybertruck vehicles to fix a problem with the accelerator pedal. Tesla shares have declined every day this week. The electric-vehicle company is scheduled to report quarterly earnings next Tuesday.

Jabil, the electronics-manufacturing services company, disclosed in a filing that Chief Executive Kenny Wilson was going on paid leave pending an investigation "related to company policies." Jabil didn't specify what prompted the investigation but did say the "conduct that prompted this review does not relate to, and does not impact, the company's financial statements or financial reporting." Jabil declined 8.4%.

SLB, the world's largest oil-services company, declined 2.1%. The firm reported first-quarter adjusted earnings of 75 cents a share, matching analysts' estimates, while revenue of $8.71 billion, up 13% from a year earlier, topped forecasts.

Procter & Gamble reported fiscal third-quarter earnings that beat analysts' estimates and raised its fiscal-year outlook. The stock, however, was up just 0.5% after revenue of $20.2 billion missed estimates of $20.44 billion.

KB Home was up 1% after the home builder said its board authorized the repurchase of up to $1 billion in stock and boosted its quarterly dividend to 25 cents a share from 20 cents.