US stocks struggled overnight as investors grew increasingly concerned about the health of the economy, particularly ahead of Friday's crucial nonfarm payrolls report.
The S&P 500 dipped 0.3 per cent, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.54 per cent. The Nasdaq Composite managed a small gain of 0.25 per cent.
Turning to the US sectors, most closed lower overnight. Consumer Discretionary, Communication Services and Technology were the only sectors in the green. Health was the worst performer.
Thursday's economic data provided mixed signals. Private payrolls data showed the weakest growth since 2021, raising fears of a slowing labor market. However, weekly jobless claims declined. The market has been particularly sensitive to economic data in recent weeks, as seen in Tuesday's sell-off following weak manufacturing data.
In company news, Tesla shares rose 4.9 per cent after announcing plans to launch its full self-driving software in Europe and China early next year. Frontier Communications dropped 9.5 per cent following Verizon's announcement of a $20 billion acquisition.
JetBlue Airways' stock surged over 7 per cent following an upward revision to its third-quarter revenue guidance. G-III Apparel Group's shares climbed 22 per cent after reporting second-quarter earnings that exceeded analyst expectations. In contrast, Hewlett Packard Enterprise's stock fell 6 per cent despite beating fiscal third-quarter estimates, as declining gross margins weighed on the company's performance.
The largest CRM in the world, Salesforce, is acquiring data backup startup Own Co. for $1.9 billion and expects the deal to be accretive to free cash flow starting in the second year after closing.
This week, all three major averages have closed lower, with the Dow being the lone exception, squeezing out a small gain.
In the Australian landscape, excluding preliminary deals and divestitures, Australian M&A volume reached US$15.7 billion in the past week. The AirTrunk acquisition, advised by Macquarie and Goldman Sachs, is expected to significantly boost their league table rankings.
Futures
The SPI futures are pointing to a 0.1 per cent gain.
Currency
One Australian dollar at 7.35am was buying 67.40 US cents.
Commodities
Gold has added 0.68 per cent. Silver has gained 1.90 per cent. Copper has added 1.43 per cent. Oil has fallen 0.07 per cent.
Figures around the globe
European markets closed lower. London’s FTSE lost 0.34 per cent, Frankfurt fell 0.08 per cent, and Paris closed 0.92 per cent lower.
Turning to Asian markets, Tokyo’s Nikkei dropped 1.05 per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 0.07 per cent, while China’s Shanghai Composite closed 0.14 per cent higher.
Yesterday, the Australian share market closed 0.40 per cent higher at 7982
Ex-dividends
Argo Global Ltd (ASX:ALI) is paying 5 cents fully franked
AUB Group Ltd (ASX:AUB) is paying 59 cents fully franked
Aussie Broadband (ASX:ABB) is paying 4 cents fully franked
Cryosite Limited (ASX:CTE) is paying 2 cents unfranked
G8 Education Limited (ASX:GEM) is paying 2 cents fully franked
Generation Dev Group (ASX:GDG) is paying 1 cent fully franked
Smartgroup Corporation Ltd (ASX:SIQ) is paying 17.5 cents fully franked
Summerset Group Holdings (ASX:SNZ) is paying 8.7958 cents unfranked
WiseTech Global Ltd (ASX:WTC) is paying 9.2 cents fully franked
Dividends payable
GWA Group Ltd (ASX:GWA)
Hotel Property Investments (ASX:HPI)
JB Hi Fi Ltd (ASX:JBH)
Korvest Ltd (ASX:KOV)
Sources: Bloomberg, FactSet, IRESS, TradingView, UBS, Bourse Data, Trading Economics, CoinMarketCap, Marketech.
