Markets Overview

  • ASX SPI 200 futures down 0.7% to 8,191.00
  • Dow Average down 0.1% to 43,389.38
  • Aussie down 1.0% to 0.6243 per US$
  • US 10-year yield rose 2.7bps to 4.2828%
  • Australia 3-year bond yield fell 1.1 bps to 3.79%
  • Australia 10-year bond yield fell 2.4 bps to 4.34%
  • Gold spot down 1.3% to $2,878.98
  • Brent futures up 2.1% to $74.02/bbl

Economic Events

  • 11:00: (AU) Australia to Sell A$700 Million 1.75% 2032 Bonds
  • 11:30: (AU) Jan. Private Sector Credit YoY, prior 6.5%
  • 11:30: (AU) Jan. Private Sector Credit MoM, est. 0.5%, prior 0.6%

A selloff in the stock market’s most-influential group drove the Nasdaq 100 to its lowest level since November as Nvidia Corp.’s results failed to revive the artificial-intelligence rally.

The S&P 500 fell 1.6%, erasing its gains for 2025. Megacaps bore the brunt of the selling as good-but-not-great numbers from Nvidia Corp. disappointed investors. The chipmaker sank 8.5%. The dollar rose as Donald Trump said 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico are on track to go into place March 4, and he’d impose an additional 10% tax on Chinese imports.

“Nvidia’s earnings were good, but they did not do a lot do lessen the growing fears that the earnings from the AI market will not be as strong as investors had been thinking,” said Matt Maley at Miller Tabak + Co. “The quotes out of Washington, DC continue to create decent sized intraday moves in the markets.”

All the uneasiness around the actual impact of potential US tariffs on things like trade, the economy, inflation and even geopolitics kept Wall Street traders on their toes. And there was no major relief from Thursday’s big batch of economic data released in the run-up to a key inflation reading.

The US economy advanced at a healthy pace and inflation was more stubborn than initially estimated at the end of 2024. Gross domestic product increased at an unrevised 2.3% annualized pace in the fourth quarter. The primary growth engine — consumer spending — advanced at a 4.2% pace.

“Investors want lower rates from the Fed, but they don’t want to get there by seeing a notable deterioration in the underlying economy,” said Bret Kenwell at eToro. “At the very least, if the economy is going to slow, investors will want to see inflation slow down too.”

The Nasdaq 100 fell 2.8%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slid 0.45%. A gauge of the Magnificent Seven megacaps sank 3%. The Russell 2000 slipped 1.6%. In late hours, Dell Technologies Inc. gave a bullish outlook.

The yield on 10-year Treasuries rose two basis points to 4.27%. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index added 0.6%.