ASX opens lower weighed down by tech sector
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More news: Australian shares opened marginally lower, as the tech and industrial sectors dragged the indices lower in early trade.
The benchmark ASX 200 was down by 5.9 points, or 0.07%, to 8.898 at 10:27am AEDT. Seven of the 11 sectorial indices opened in the red.
Utilities (+0.78%) led early gains, lifted by Origin Energy (+0.73%), APA Group (+0.92%), and Mercury NZ (+1.46%).
Catalyst Metals (+4.44%) was one of the top performers across the ASX 200 after it reported a new high-grade gold discovery in Western Australia.
However, Nickel Industries (-3.52%) was one of the worst performers across the ASX 200 after it flagged a slump in revenue following sales licence delay.
Neuren Pharmaceuticals (-2.45%) also fell at the open after it responded to an ASX aware letter about the late disclosure of US sales projections.
Tech sector (-1.07%) was the worst performer across the ASX 200 at the open, dragged lower by Wisetech Global (-2.61%), Life360 (-5.41%), Megaport (-2.26%) and Technology One (-1.87%).
The Melbourne Institute is set to release its latest inflation gauge at 11:00am AEDT.
Australian shares to open lower as Trump tariff threat rattles Europe
The news: Australian shares are set to open marginally lower after Wall Street's main indices closed flat on Friday in New York, ahead of the long weekend. The Dow Jones, S&P 500 and Nasdaq all posted weekly losses as the fourth-quarter earnings season kicked off.
US markets will be closed Monday for the Martin Luther King Jr holiday.
Elsewhere, European markets are expected to face volatility amid Donald Trump's threat to impose tariffs on countries that oppose his administration's efforts to take control of Greenland.
The numbers: Updated at 7:44am AEDT:
- ASX futures: down 1 point, or 0.01% to 8,925.
- Wall Street: Dow Jones down 0.17%, S&P 500 down 0.06% and the Nasdaq down 0.06%.
- Europe: CAC 40 down 0.65%, DAX down 0.22% and FTSE 100 down 0.04%.
- Spot gold: down 0.45% to USD4,594 per ounce.
- Oil prices: Brent up 0.58% to USD64.13/bbl and US WTI up 0.42% to USD59.44/bbl.
- AUD: down 0.22% at 66.83 US cents.
- Bitcoin: up 0.22% to USD95,326.
The context: Stocks on Wall Street closed flat on Friday as investors were cautious on making big bets ahead of the long weekend, with financials leading declines amid concerns over Donald Trump's proposed one-year cap on credit card interest rates at 10%.
Investors are now turning their attention to upcoming earnings reports from Netflix, Johnson & Johnson and Intel later this week.
Elsewhere, European markets are facing heightened volatility after Trump said he would impose an additional 10% import tariff from 1 February on goods from Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Finland and Britain, raising to 25% from 1 June if no deal is reached. The comments pushed the euro to a seven-week low in Sunday trading.
European defence shares are expected to remain supported, according to Reuters, after the sector rose about 15% this month amid heightened geopolitical concerns linked to Greenland.
On the data front, China's National Bureau of Statistics will publish its GDP figures for the December quarter at 1:00pm AEDT.
Locally, the Melbourne Institute will release its latest inflation gauge at 11:00am AEDT.
