Global Markets Report - 26 February

ASX set to open higher, after US indexes ended mixed on consumer fears.

26 February 2025

Australia

Please note: we will be discontinuing the Global Markets Report after 28 February.

Australian shares are set to open higher, after US indexes ended mixed on consumer fears.

ASX futures were up 0.33% or 28 points as of 8:30am on Wednesday, suggesting a higher open.

The Nasdaq dropped after US consumer confidence registered the largest monthly decline in more than three years in February, as fears of recession reappeared amid concerns over the inflationary impact of President Trump's potential tariff policies.

The Dow Industrials rose as Walmart shares recovered from three days of declines and Home Depot gained 2.8% after its results beat expectations. Nvidia slipped 2.8% a day before releasing its 4Q results.

DJIA gained 159 points, or 0.4%, to 43,621, while the S&P 500 fell 0.5% to 5,955 and the Nasdaq dropped 1.4% 19,026.

In commodity markets, Brent crude oil was down 2.10% to US$73.21 a barrel, while gold was down 1.19% to US$2,916.47.

The Australian dollar was at 63.44 US cents, down from its previous close of 63.47.

Asia

Chinese shares closed lower. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index dropped 0.8% to 3,346.04, and the Shenzhen Composite Index slipped 0.8% to 2,074.31.

Hong Kong shares ended lower. The benchmark Hang Seng Index fell 1.3% to 23,034.02.

Japanese shares closed lower. The Nikkei Stock Average declined 1.4% to 38,237.79.

India shares ended higher. The BSE SENSEX lifted 0.2% to 74,602.12.

Europe

Stocks in the U.K. finished higher. The FTSE 100 Index lifted 0.1% to 8,668.67.

In Europe, shares closed lower. Germany's DAX fell 0.1% to 22,410.27, and France's CAC 40 declined 0.5% to 8,051.07.

North America

U.S. stocks ended mixed. The DJIA lifted 0.4% to 43,621.16, the S&P 500 slipped 0.5% to 5,955.25, and the Nasdaq dropped 1.4% to 19,026.39.

Among S&P 500 companies, the top three gainers were Solventum Corp SOLV surging 9.54%, Molina Healthcare Inc MOH jumped 6.45%, and American Tower Corp AMT lifted 6.12%.

The biggest decliners were Sempra SRE which dropped 18.97%, Super Micro Computer Inc SMCI fell 11.76%, and Tesla Inc TSLA lost 8.39%.

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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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