The ASX200 is set to fall 1.04% after a night of weakness on US markets.
On Thursday, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq both experienced dramatic falls – by 0.8% and 0.7% respectively – while the Dow fell back from its record highs, with a significant drop of 533 points. The falls were inspired by megacap tech stocks, but the sell-off extended to other sectors as most finished in the red.
Negative performances were reported by Apple (2%), Microsoft (0.7%), Alphabet (1.9%), and Amazon (2.1%), while some gains were made by Nvidia (2.5%) and Meta (3%). A decline on the healthcare sector was led by Eli Lilly, which dropped 6.2%. Netflix also dropped 0.7%.
Also overnight, the European central bank left rates on hold at 3.75%, but ECB president Christine Lagarde said a cut in September was a strong possibility.
Over at the ASX, NewPeak Metals Ltd (ASX:NPM) is set to acquire the Treur Range uranium-vanadium project in the Northern Territory.
Meanwhile, Argosy Minerals Ltd (ASX:AGY) has signed a Spot Sale Contract with a Korean chemical company, for the sale of 20 metric tonnes of battery-quality lithium carbonate produced from Argosy’s Rincon Lithium project in Argentina.
And online retailer Adore Beauty Group Ltd (ASX:ABY) has reported that its annual revenue for the 2024 financial year was up 7.4% on the prior corresponding period (PCP), to $195.7 million, while it also saw a record 519 thousand customers returning, a rise of 5.8% on PCP.
In forex, the Aussie is buying just over 67 US cents.
In commodities, brent crude fell 0.42% to US$84.72, while iron ore was down 0.41% to US$108.94 per tonne at Singapore.
Gold fell 0.68% to US$2,444 per ounce while US natgas futures are at US$2.10 per gigajoule.