AP – Wall Street followed global markets lower yesterday ahead of a highly anticipated United States (US) jobs report that’s expected to influence the Federal Reserve’s (Fed) next move on interest rates.
Dow futures slipped 0.3 per cent before the opening bell and S&P 500 futures are off 0.5 per cent.
Broadcom tumbled 7.2 per cent in premarket trading after the chipmaker gave a lukewarm forecast, even though it nudged past third-quarter profit targets on booming revenue related to artificial intelligence (AI).
Broadcom, whose shares are still up more than 25 per cent this year, said it expects fourth-quarter sales of USD14 billion, which is short of Wall Street expectations.
US Steel jumped 2.6 per cent in premarket after the CEO of rival Cleveland Cliffs told MSNBC that his company would still be interested in acquiring US Steel if the Biden Administration were to block its proposed sale to Japan’s Nippon Steel.
Lourenco Goncalves also accused Nippon of frequent breaches of trade policies and cited national security issues if the proposed USD14 billion Nippon-US Steel were to go through.
The job market report, set for release, could dictate how big of a cut to interest rates the Fed will deliver at its next meeting later this month.
After keeping its main interest rate at a two-decade high to stifle inflation, the Fed has hinted it’s about to begin cutting rates to keep the economy from sliding into a recession. Most analysts are forecasting somewhat of a rebound in August job gains after July’s disappointing numbers sent markets into a tailspin.
Elsewhere, in Europe at midday, France’s CAC 40 and Britain’s FTSE 100 each slipped 0.2 per cent, while Germany’s DAX shed 0.5 per cent.
Trading was cautious in Asia amid lingering worries about a possible recession in the US.
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 fell 0.7 per cent to finish at 36,391.47. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.4 per cent to 8,013.40, while South Korea’s Kospi slipped 1.2 per cent to 2,544.28. The Shanghai Composite shed 0.8 per cent to 2,765.81. Trading was halted in Hong Kong because of a typhoon.
In energy trading, benchmark US crude gained 39 cents to USD69.54 a barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, added 36 cents to USD73.05 a barrel.
In currency trading, the US dollar edged down to JPY143.13 from JPY143.40, The euro cost USD1.1110, down slightly from USD1.1112.
