Australia

Australian shares are set to open lower, after US stocks finished mixed as the Dow Industrials slipped, while strength in big cap tech names lifted the Nasdaq to a fresh high.

ASX futures were down 0.08% or 7 points as of 8:00am on Wednesday, suggesting a lower open.

In the US, a rally in tech stocks lifted the Nasdaq Composite to a new high for the first time since July.

The record comes during a packed week of corporate earnings, including tech behemoths. Google parent Alphabet reported third-quarter results after the market closed that beat Wall Street expectations. Other Magnificent Seven members-Meta, Microsoft, Amazon and Apple-are set to report later this week.

The Nasdaq gained 0.8%, its 28th record close of the year. The S&P 500 rose 0.2% and the Dow industrials fell 0.4%.

In commodity markets, Brent crude oil was flat at US$71.45 a barrel, while gold was unchanged at US$2,774.81.

The Australian dollar was at 65.58 US cents, down from its previous close of 65.82.

Asia

Chinese shares closed lower. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index lost 1.1% to 3,286.41.

Hong Kong shares ended higher. The benchmark Hang Seng Index rose 0.5% to 20,701.14.

Japanese shares closed higher. The Nikkei Stock Average added 0.8% to 38,903.68.

Europe

Stocks in the U.K. finished lower. The FTSE 100 Index fell 0.8% to 8,219.61.

In Europe, shares closed lower. Germany's DAX dropped 0.3% to 19,478.07, and France's CAC 40 slipped 0.6% to 7,511.11.

North America

U.S. stocks ended mixed. The DJIA lost 0.4% to 42,233.05, the S&P 500 rose 0.2% to 5,832.92, and the Nasdaq added 0.8% to 18,712.75.

Among S&P 500 companies, the top three gainers were Cadence Design Systems Inc, surging 12.55%, Incyte Corp jumped 12.03%, and F5 Inc lifted 10.09%.

The biggest decliners were Stanley Black & Decker Inc which dropped 8.77%, Ford Motor Co fell 8.44%, and D.R. Horton Inc lost 7.24%.