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The ASX200 is set to fall 0.43% on Friday, as US market softened due to rising yields and mixed economic data, while investors awaited a speech by Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell at the Jackson Hole symposium on Friday.
The S&P 500 dropped 0.9%, the Nasdaq 100 fell back by 1.7%, influenced by a significant decline in tech shares, while the Dow Jones lost 177 points.
Initial jobless claims rose slightly more than expected halfway through August, with this suggesting a moderating labour market in the US following the 818,000 downward revision to nonfarm payrolls for the year ending in March. At the same time, figures from the S&P PMI indicated that the US private economy expanded sharply in August, although growth was solely carried by service providers.
Declines were led by the tech sector, with Nvidia falling 3.7% ahead of its earnings report next week. Consumer discretionary stocks were also sharply trending down, highlighted by Tesla’s 5.6% loss. In contrast, financials, real estate, and energy sectors ended the day positively.
On the ASX, Fisher & Paykel Healthcare Corporation Ltd (ASX:FPH) told investors they expected their full year profits for the 2025 fiscal year to be between $320 million to $370 million, a revision upwards from guidance provided in May which predicted it would be between $310 million and $360 million. Its full year operating revenue was unchanged since the May guidance, expected to be between $1.9 billion to $2.0 billion in 2025.
Meanwhile, PSC Insurance Group Ltd (ASX:PSI) said its underlying profit (NPATA) had grown 11% to $87 million during the 2024 fiscal year, while its underlying earnings (EBITDA) were also higher by 15%, to a figure of $127.1 million, with the latter figure being at the top end of PSC’s guidance. The company did not declare a dividend for FY2024.
Finally, Macmahon Holding Ltd (ASX:MAH) said a worker had been killed at the Byerwen mine site in Queensland on Thursday. The company said emergency response teams had been activated and added that the incident would be thoroughly investigated.
In forex, the Aussie buying 67 US cents.
In commodities, Gold is currently fetching US$2,485 per ounce.
Brent Crude is currently priced at US$77 per barrel.
Iron ore is US$98.38 per tonne.
Finally, US natgas futures are currently pulling in US$2.06 per gigajoule.
