Market Open: Brace yourselves for ASX200 fall

ASX200 investors: Brace yourselves for market falls today!

Futures have been pointing to a 0.7 per cent drop after all US markets closed in the red off the back of higher-than-expected inflation data.

The S&P500 and Nasdaq both lost 0.3 per cent and the Dow Jones broke a three-day ralling falling 0.4 per cent.

Tesla fell more than 4 per cent after a Wells Fargo analyst predicted there’d be no growth in EV sales volumes, however Microsoft added 2.5 per cent to a new high after launching its latest AI tool, Copilot for Security. Apple was also up a per cent after buying a Canadian AI startup called DarwinAI.

Back home, and $1.6 billion financial services tech company, Iress (ASX:IRE) has secured a binding agreement to divest its UK mortgages business to Bain Capital Tech Opportunities for A$164.3 million.

In smaller cap news, Liontown Resources (ASX:LTR) – which this week received a major Government financing boost is set to be releasing results, as is Sayona Mining (ASX:SYA). Both are working on lithium projects.

Premier1 Lithium (ASX:PLC) is searching for a new MD and CEO on news CEO Richard Taylor will step down by the end of May.

One Australian dollar is buying US65.8 cents.

Oil reached its highest closing price for the year so far overnight, Brent crude has been trading around US$85.11.

Iron ore has shed more than 3 per cent to US$107.50 a tonne.

Gold has pulled back half a per cent to be trading at US$2162.10.

Natural gas has recovered nearly 6 per cent to around $1.75 per million British thermal units.

Wheat is now down nearly 25 per cent year-on-year to US$533 a bushel. That’s due to difficulties with trade with two key markets China and Russia.