Tech stocks drag Wall Street lower
A selloff in technology stocks dragged Wall Street sharply lower overnight, amid concerns of higher inflation.
All three US stock market benchmarks fell – with the Dow Jones dropping by 0.94%, the S&P 500 by 1.30%, and tech heavy Nasdaq by 2.14%.
US President Biden said he could not guarantee the debt ceiling would be raised in two weeks, as the country grapples with the possibility of missing its debt obligation – the first time in history.
“This is going to undermine the safety of US Treasury securities, and will threaten the reserve status of the dollar as the world’s currency, that the world relies on,” Biden said.
Facebook stock meanwhile fell almost 5% as its social media services – Facebook, Instagram, and Whatsapp – were hit by an outage across the world that lasted several hours.
In other markets, oil prices rose around 2.5% overnight, and Brent crude price is now trading at US$81.26, as the global energy crisis continues. Thermal coal also rose by 5% to US$240/t.
To cryptos, where Bitcoin is rising steadily and is trading at US$49,000 at 8:00am AEST this morning as China’s shaky Evergrande property situation continues to cast a shadow over global markets.
Ethereum (ETH), the no.2 crypto by market cap, is down 2.4% since this time yesterday, currently changing hands for US$3,331.
ASX 200 to open lower on Tuesday
The ASX 200 looks set to open sharply lower his morning, with futures markets (December contracts) pointing down by 0.95% at 8:30am AEST.
Yesterday, the Aussie benchmark had a positive start to the week, driven by financial and travel stocks.
Later today, the RBA will hand down its decision on rates policy.
Other data to be released in Australia today include: job advertisements, retail sales, and business confidence.
5 ASX small caps to watch today
K2Fly (ASX:K2F)
The software and consulting services company has won a contract with Rio Tinto (ASX:RIO) for K2Fly’s Ground Disturbance solution. The software manages approvals, reporting and closure of of all ground disturbance commitments and activities, and will be used in Rio’s mines across the Pilbara. The five year contract is valued at $3.44m, with an annual recurring revenue of $620k.
Opthea (ASX:OPT)
The eye disease biotech company announced that enrollment for its Phase 3 clinical trial of OPT-302 for treating wet (neovascular) age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is now open in Europe. Enrollment has already been ongoing in the US and Canada, and is being expanded into Europe and the rest of the world.
Adveritas (ASX:AV1)
The digital ad fraud prevention specialist says that its annualised revenue growth trajectory continues, up 55% since June to approximately $1.6m. This was mainly the result of signing up new clients – JD.id, Palmerbet, and Singapore telco giant Singtel – to its TrafficGuard services.
Baby Bunting (ASX:BBN)
The company had its annual general meeting, and confirmed four new store openings in the first half of FY22. It’s also expecting a strong pipeline of leases committed for the second half, plus two new stores in New Zealand in Q4 FY22. BBN did not provide an earnings guidance.
Deep Yellow (ASX:DYL)
The uranium explorer has reported a 121% increase in its updated Ore Reserve Estimate. A definitive feasibility study (DFS) at Tumas 3 and 1 East was completed, with the Tumas Probable Ore Reserves increasing by 121% to 68.4Mlb U3O8 at 345ppm.
At Stockhead we tell it like it is. While Adveritas is a Stockhead advertiser, it did not sponsor this article.