Global Markets Report - 4 February

ASX set to open higher, after US markets recovered after an initial fall.

04 February 2025

Australia

Australian shares are set to open higher, after US markets recovered after an initial fall.

ASX futures were up 0.46% or 39 points as of 8:30am on Tuesday, suggesting a higher open.

US stocks fell, but ended well above the worst levels of the session, after Mexico and the US agreed to delay the implementation of trade tariffs for one month. President Trump is speaking to Prime Minister Trudeau this afternoon spurring uncertainty on whether new import levies between the countries come into force.

Consumer staples were the best performing sector, while technology and consumer discretionary sectors performed the worst.

The dollar strengthened along with gold prices as investors seek safe havens.

DJIA fell 122 points, or 0.3%, to 44,421, the S&P 500 lost 0.8% to 5,994 and the Nasdaq dropped 1.2% to 19,391.

In commodity markets, Brent crude oil was up 0.16% to US$75.79 a barrel, while gold was up 0.54% to US$2,813.50.

The Australian dollar was at 61.82 US cents, down from its previous close of 62.08.

Asia

Chinese shares closed lower. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index dropped 0.1% to 3,250.6, and the Shenzhen Composite Index slipped 1.3% to 1,911.09.

Hong Kong shares ended flat. The benchmark Hang Seng Index was unchanged at 20,217.26.

Japanese shares closed lower. The Nikkei Stock Average declined 2.7% to 38,520.09.

India shares ended lower. The BSE SENSEX declined 0.4% to 77,186.74.

Europe

Stocks in the U.K. finished lower. The FTSE 100 Index declined 1% to 8,583.56.

In Europe, shares closed lower. Germany's DAX fell 1.4% to 21,428.24, and France's CAC 40 declined 1.2% to 7,854.92.

North America

U.S. stocks ended lower. The DJIA fell 0.3% to 44,421.91, the S&P 500 slipped 0.8% to 5,994.57, and the Nasdaq dropped 1.2% to 19,391.96.

Among S&P 500 companies, the top three gainers were IDEXX Laboratories Inc IDXX surging 11.13%, Molina Healthcare Inc MOH jumped 4.82%, and AbbVie Inc ABBV lifted 3.39%.

The biggest decliners were Moderna Inc MRNA which dropped 7.28%, Franklin Resources Inc BEN fell 6.83%, and FedEx Corp FDX lost 6.62%.

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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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