Global Markets Report - 16 October

ASX set to open higher, after US equities indexes retreated from record highs after a selloff in chip stocks.

16 October 2024

Australia

Australian shares are set to open higher, after US equities indexes retreated from record highs after a selloff in chip stocks.

ASX futures were up 0.40% or 33 points as of 8:00am on Wednesday, suggesting a higher open.

A selloff in chip stocks weighed on major US indexes after the Dutch chip-equipment manufacturer ASML noted growing caution among its customers and said sales this year could come at the lower end of previous forecasts.

ASML shares fell roughly 16% in Amsterdam, highlighting sluggish demand for semiconductors outside the realm of artificial-intelligence computing. Shares of chipmakers including Nvidia, Intel, Advanced Micro Devices and Broadcom also declined.

Those moves dragged on the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite, which fell 1%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 dropped 0.8%, both indexes retreating from fresh record highs set Monday.

In commodity markets, Brent crude oil was down 3.5% to US$74.79 a barrel, while gold was up 0.5% to US$2,662.58.

The Australian dollar was at 67.02 US cents, down from its previous close of 67.25.

Asia

Chinese shares closed lower. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index fell 2.5% to 3,201.29, and the Shenzhen Composite Index lost 2.1% to 1,850.50.

Hong Kong shares ended lower. The benchmark Hang Seng Index dropped 3.7% to 20,318.79.

Japanese shares closed higher. The Nikkei Stock Average rose 0.8% to 39,910.55.

India shares ended lower. The BSE SENSEX slipped 0.2% to 81,820.12.

Europe

Stocks in the U.K. finished lower. The FTSE 100 Index lost 0.5% to 8,249.28.

In Europe, shares closed lower. Germany's DAX fell 0.1% to 19,486.19, and France's CAC 40 slipped 1.1% to 7,521.97.

North America

U.S. stocks ended lower. The DJIA lost 0.8% to 42,740.42, the S&P 500 slipped 0.8% to 5,815.26, and the Nasdaq dropped 1.0% to 18,315.59.

Among S&P 500 companies, the top three gainers were Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc, surging 16.06%, Carnival Corp jumped 6.63%, and Charles Schwab Corp lifted 6.10%.

The biggest decliners were KLA Corp which dropped 14.68%, Lam Research Corp fell 10.85%, and Applied Materials Inc lost 10.66%.

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AUTHOR

Morningstar
Morningstar provides data on more than 500,000 investment offerings, including stocks, mutual funds, and similar vehicles, along with real-time global market data on more than 17 million equities, indexes, futures, options, commodities, and precious metals, in addition to foreign exchange and Treasury markets.

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