ASX to slip as Wall Street drops ahead of Nvidia earnings

The news: The Australian sharemarket is set to open lower after major indices lost ground on Wall Street ahead of megacap Nvidia’s earnings and amid an escalation of Russia-Ukraine tensions.

The numbers: Updated at 7:25am AEDT:

• ASX futures: down 7 points or 0.08% at 8,353 points
• Wall Street: Dow Jones down 0.30%, S&P 500 down 0.69%, Nasdaq down 0.97%
• Europe: FTSE 100 down 0.17%, CAC 40 down 0.43%, DAX down 0.29%
• Spot gold: up 0.69% to USD2,650.18 per ounce
• Oil prices: Brent down 0.37% to USD73.04/barrel, US WTI down 0.75% to USD68.87/bbl
• AUD: down 0.52% at 64.98 US cents
• Bitcoin: up 2.17% to USD94,283.19

The context: AI leader Nvidia fell 2.2% ahead of its results after the bell, dragging down the S&P Information Technology sector as well as the tech-heavy Nasdaq. Given the lofty earnings expectations, the chipmaker could struggle to impress investors. Investors also turned nervous after a report said Ukraine fired long-range British Storm Shadow missiles into Russian territory a day after Russia announced it had lowered the threshold for nuclear action.

What to Watch: AI chipmaker Nvidia’s Q3 earnings; annual general meetings for Mineral Resources, Insignia Financial, Accent Group, Evolution Mining, Regis Resources and Ramelius Resources among others; and RBA governor Michele Bullock speaks at the Women in Payments Symposium conference in Sydney.