ASX to fall early after Wall Street falters

The news: Stocks are forecast to fall once the Australian sharemarket opens for its second trading day of 2024, as US markets struggled for momentum overnight.

The numbers: The ASX 200 futures index was lower by 11 points to 7636 points. The Australian dollar had eased and was buying 67.58 US cents. In the US, a broker downgrade for Apple contributed to major Wall Street indices being lower late on the first US trading day of 2024. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.19% to 37,617 points. The S&P 500 was lower by 0.91% to 4,726. The Nasdaq Composite was down 2% to 14,706.

The context: While the Australian sharemarket had a winning start to 2024, traders will have more tricky overseas influences to contend with when the market opens on Wednesday. US Treasury yields were higher and impacted the value of Wall Street stocks.The three major indices had nine consecutive weekly gains to finish 2023, but could be due to slip in a week in which trading volumes are low.