ASX opens lower on tech sell-off
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More news: Australian shares opened lower dragged down by a sell-off in tech stocks, mirroring Wall Street's AI-driven retreat after rebounding from a record high on Thursday.
The benchmark ASX 200 was down by 69.4 points, or 0.77%, to 8,974 at 10:28am AEDT. Seven of the 11 sectoral indices opened in the red.
Tech (-4.33%) was the weakest performing sector at the open, led by WiseTech Global (-9.03%), Technology One (-3.50%), Life360 (-4.04%) and Megaport (-2.18%).
Cochlear (-11.86%) was among the worst performing stocks after reporting a 21% decline in first-half statutory net profit.
Nick Scali (-9.58%) slumped despite delivering a 23% increase in half-year profit and lifting its dividend.
Utilities (+2.16%) was the best performing sector, supported by gains in Origin Energy (+3.83%), APA Group (+1.56%), AGL Energy (+0.49%) and Rivco Australia (+1.29%).
GQG Partners (+4.65%) rose after reporting a 7.1% increase in funds under management.
Australian shares to open lower after Wall St tech sell-off
The news: Australian shares are set to open lower after Wall Street's major indices fell on Thursday amid a renewed sell-off in software and technology shares.
The numbers: Updated at 7:41am AEDT:
- ASX futures: down 16 points to 8,969.
- Wall Street: Dow Jones down 1.04%, S&P 500 down 1.23% and the Nasdaq down 1.89%.
- Europe: CAC 40 up 0.33%, DAX down 0.01% and FTSE 100 down 0.07%.
- Spot gold: down 3.37% to USD4,918 per ounce.
- Oil prices: Brent down 2.71% to USD67.52/bbl and US WTI down 2.70% to USD62.87/bbl.
- AUD: down 0.55% at 70.88 US cents.
- Bitcoin: down 2.49% to USD65,311.
The context: Investor sentiment has been weighed down by growing concerns over the disruptive impact of AI on profitability, prompting a reassessment of valuations across sectors including software, legal services and wealth management.
All three main US indices fell in afternoon trading. The Nasdaq led declines, dropping 1.71%, while the Dow Jones retreated below 50,000 and the S&P 500 fell 1.10%.
Software and brokerage stocks fell sharply, with the S&P 500 software index down 2.7%, erasing most of the gains made since last week's rebound.
Advertising company AppLovin was among the worst performers, falling 18.93% after attempting to downplay AI-related concerns as it released earnings.
Networking company Cisco Systems slid 12.66% after rising costs overshadowed increased demand from hyperscalers.
All "Magnificent 7" stocks traded lower, with Apple and Amazon falling 5.09% and 2.83%, respectively.
Wednesday's strong labour market data also tempered expectations for a central bank rate cut.
And the latest labour figures released by the US Department of Labor Thursday showed weekly jobless claims declined by less than expected last week, signalling continued resilience in the labour market. The January consumer price index report is due for release on Friday.
Locally, Cochlear, Nick Scali and BWP Group are scheduled to report half-year results this morning.
