The US and Europe both saw their most important benchmarks move into the red, as rising geopolitical tensions has investors trading cautiously. Nvidia is set to announce its results after session close today, with high expectations set by the market.
The Russian-Ukrainian conflict escalated recently, as a report suggested Ukraine fired long-range British and US missiles into Russian territory, and Russia’s response was to lower the threshold for nuclear action. The Street’s fear gauge rose sharply, with the three key indices moving into the red. The NASDAQ fell -0.7%, the S&P 500 lost -0.5%, and the DOW dropped -0.2%. Nvidia dipped -1.4% ahead of its earnings release. Target plummeted -21.5% after the retailer forecast holiday-quarter sales and profit below Wall Street’s expectations. Bond yields also put equities under pressure, the US 2-year treasury bond yield added +3 bps to 4.30%, while its 10-year counterpart also added +3 bps to 4.41%.
UK inflation data showed annual headline inflation rising to 2.3% from 1.7% in the previous month, +0.1% higher than economists' expectations. As a result, UK’s FTSE 100 fell -0.2%, while the Stoxx 600 remained relatively flat (-0.0%). Sage Group skyrocketed +17.9% after it launched a 400-million pound share buyback. Vistry Group lost -7.0% after a senior official left the firm.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 was the only Asian benchmark to move into the red, falling -0.2%. Conversely, China’s Shanghai Composite led gains with a +0.7% increase, followed closely by the Kospi’s +0.4%. The CSI 300 and the Hang Seng each added +0.2%. The ASX 200’s four-session winning streak came to an end in the previous session, as it tumbled -0.6%. Amcor fell -1.2% after it unveiled the friendly takeover of rival Berry Global. Nick Scali lost -1.7% after the retailer warned investors of 1H25 earnings guidance being at risk. PWR Holdings dove -24.6% after the automotive cooling products manufacturer guided 1H25 earnings to less than half of last year’s levels. The NZX 50 also lost -0.6%.
WTI Crude fell -0.3% to US$69.15/bbl, Gold increased +0.5% to US$2,646.90/oz, Iron Ore added +0.1% to US$101.89/MT.