Australian shares are set to open weaker, tracking declines on Wall Street, with ASX 200 futures down 37 points, or 0.4%, to 8694.
The S&P/ASX 200 fell 55.7 points, or 0.64%, to 8710.7 on Tuesday, marking a sixth straight day of losses — the market’s longest losing run since June 2022.
Rising oil prices, with Brent crude pushing above US$110 a barrel, continued to pressure sentiment and drive a repricing across rate-sensitive and growth sectors. Investors remained cautious ahead of key domestic CPI data and next week’s RBA meeting, with expectations building for a potential rate hike.
Ten of 11 sectors closed lower, led by weakness in gold miners as bullion prices fell. Lithium stocks were a notable exception, buoyed by upgraded price forecasts.
Notable movers:
- European Lithium (EUR) +45.6% — US$835 million merger with Critical Metals Corp
- Elsight (ELS) +4.3% — added to US DoD Blue List
- Whitehaven Coal (WHC) +3.9% — stronger March quarter production
- Reliance Worldwide (RWC) +3.6% — reaffirmed guidance
- Pilbara Minerals (PLS) +3.0% — supported by lithium outlook upgrades
- Pantoro Gold (PNR) -11.3% — production impacted by Cyclone Mitchell
- Domino’s Pizza (DMP) -10.7% — tracked US weakness
- Origin Energy (ORG) -3.9% — broker downgrade
United States: AI concerns hit tech ahead of earnings
US markets pulled back from record highs as renewed doubts around the artificial intelligence boom weighed on technology stocks ahead of major earnings releases.
Reports that OpenAI missed revenue and user targets raised concerns about whether massive AI-related capital spending can be sustained. This triggered declines across chipmakers and AI-linked names.
- Dow Jones: -0.1%
- S&P 500: -0.5%
- Nasdaq: -0.9%
- Oracle fell 4.1%, while Nvidia, AMD and Broadcom dropped between 1% and 4%.
Outside tech, earnings were mixed:
- Coca-Cola +4.1% after beating expectations
- General Motors +0.9% on upgraded outlook
- UPS -3.1% as fuel costs weighed
US bond yields edged higher, with the 10-year at 4.35% and the 2-year at 3.84%, reflecting reduced optimism around a resolution to Middle East tensions.
Europe: markets near three-week lows
European equities also weakened, with sentiment dampened by mixed earnings, geopolitical uncertainty and upcoming central bank decisions.
- STOXX 600 (FTSEurofirst 300): -0.3%
- FTSE 100: +0.1%
Technology stocks led declines, falling 1.9% in line with US peers. Banking stocks provided some support, while energy shares gained on stronger oil prices, with BP up 1.1% after solid results.
Currencies: US dollar firms
Major currencies softened against a stronger US dollar:
- Euro: US$1.1712 (-0.1%)
- Japanese yen: 159.61 (-0.1%)
- Australian dollar: US71.80¢ (slightly lower)
Commodities: oil surges, metals and gold retreat
Oil prices remained elevated amid geopolitical tensions, despite some easing in supply concerns:
- Brent crude: +2.8% to US$111.26/bbl
Precious and base metals weakened:
- Gold: -1.8% to US$4,608/oz (near four-week low)
- Copper: -1.7%
- Aluminium: -0.6%
- Iron ore was steady at US$107.12 a tonne.
Outlook: inflation and central banks in focus
Markets are now turning to key macro catalysts:
- Australia: March CPI data due today, expected to show annual inflation around 4.6–4.8%, potentially reinforcing the case for an RBA rate hike next week
- United States: Federal Reserve rate decision due, alongside earnings from Alphabet, Amazon, Meta and Microsoft
With geopolitical risks, inflation uncertainty and central bank decisions converging, markets remain in a holding pattern with elevated volatility.