Gold bounced back to the $US1,900 an ounce level, US oil futures dropped under $US40 a barrel as other commodities fell while Wall Street eased, setting up a weak start for the ASX this morning.
Futures trading saw the ASX 200 down 49 points at 7 am Sydney time. That was after a tiny 0.2 of a point fall for the ASX 200 on a topsy turvy Tuesday.
Investors were nervously awaiting the first debate between President Trump and his challenger, Joe Biden which is due to start at 11 am Sydney time.
The Dow fell 131.40 points, or 0.5%, to end at 27,452.66; while the S&P 500 index lost 16.13 points, or 0.5%, to close at 3,335.47.
The Nasdaq slipped 32.28 points, or 0.3%, finishing at 11,085.25. All three major equity indexes ended three sessions of gains.
On Monday, the S&P 500 rose 53.14 points, or 1.6%, to end at 3,351.60. The Nasdaq climbed 203.96 points, or 1.9%, to close at 11,117.53. The Dow advanced 410.10 points, or 1.5%, finishing at 27,584.06.
After-hours news included a massive $US1.29 billion fine and levies against leading bank, JPMorgan Chase over manipulation claims in the futures markets for gold and other commodities that went on four 8 years. JPMorgan shares hardly moved (see separate story)
Disney meanwhile announced it was laying off 28,000 employees, most of whom work at the company’s theme parks which continue to be hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. Disney shares fell 1.5% in after-hours trading.
Meanwhile gold did the best of the commodities, along with silver, but others were mixed.
Comex December gold rose $US20.90, or 1.1%, to settle at $US1,903.20 an ounce, after a 0.9% rise on Monday. It later eased back to the $US1,900 an ounce level in early dealings in Asia.
The US dollar on Tuesday was down 0.4%, as measured by the ICE US Dollar Index. The index is down 0.8% so far this week, after posting a solid, 1.9% gain last week.
The weakness in the greenback saw the Aussie dollar regain the 71 US cents level and trade around 71.30 at 6 am Sydney time.
Meanwhile, Comex December silver picked up 84 cents, or 3.6%, at $US24.445 an ounce Tuesday, following a 2.2% rise on Monday.
Comex December copper was steady at $US2.99 a pound.
And the price of iron ore edged up with 62%Fe fines delivered to northern China settling at $US117.61, up to $US1.46 a tonne.
In oil, West Texas Intermediate crude for November delivery fell $US1.31, or 3.2%, to settle at US39.29 a barrel in New York, after rising nearly 1% on Monday.
In Europe, Front-month November Brent lost $US1.40, or 3.3%, to end at $US41.03 a barrel, after climbing 1.2% on Monday. The contract expires at the end of Wednesday’s session.
Both WTI and Brent futures settled at their lowest front-month prices since the middle of this month.
