Major US indexes fall after investors react to debt ceiling debate

Stocks fell Wednesday as investors kept an eye on the federal debt ceiling debate in Washington on the final trading day of May.

The deal, which was reached over the weekend by President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, cleared a major test Tuesday night after advancing to the House floor following a 7-6 vote in the House Rules Committee. The floor vote is expected to take place Wednesday evening.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average traded 134.51 points lower, or 0.41 per cent, to end at 32,908.27. The S&P 500 dipped 0.61 per cent to close at 4,179.83. The Nasdaq Composite slipped 0.63 per cent, finishing at 12,935.29.

Wednesday’s close marked the end of the May trading month. The Nasdaq Composite finished the month 5.8 per cent higher, helped by a rally in artificial intelligence-related stocks and other technology names. The S&P 500 added nearly 0.3 per cent in the month, despite at one point relinquishing its month-to-date gains during Wednesday’s selloff. The Dow fell almost 3.5 per cent in the month, pulled down by May losses greater than 10 per cent from Nike, Walt Disney, Walgreens, 3M, Chevron and Dow, Inc.

In after market trading, shares of the high-end department store, Nordstorm, jumped 9 per cent in extended trading after its fiscal first-quarter sales beat Wall Street’s expectations.

The software giant, Salesforce, saw its stock fall nearly 4 per cent, after the Company said expenditures in its latest quarter were up 36 per cent.

The cybersecurity firm, CrowdStrike, tumbled nearly 12 per cent in after-hours trading after the company reported slowing revenue growth.

Asset manager Fidelity, has marked down the value of its stake in Twitter to one-third of what Elon Musk paid for it in October. Musk's Twitter takeover has been fraught with challenges, including executive oustings, layoffs, loss of advertisers, and public conflicts. The adjusted value puts Twitter’s overall valuation at about $15 billion.

Overall, US sectors were mixed overnight. Utilities was the best performer, whilst Energy was the biggest laggard.

Futures

The SPI futures are pointing to a 0.2 per cent fall.

Currency

One Australian dollar at 7:10 AM is buying 65.02 US cents.

Commodities

Iron ore futures are pointing to a 2.4 per cent gain.

Gold added 0.25 per cent. Silver gained 1.50 per cent. Copper fell 0.71 per cent and oil dropped 1.97 per cent.

Figures around the globe

Across the Atlantic, European markets closed lower. London’s FTSE fell 1.01 per cent, Frankfurt lost 1.54 per cent while Paris closed 1.54 per cent lower.

In Asian markets, Tokyo’s Nikkei lost 1.41 per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng dropped 1.94 per cent while China’s Shanghai Composite closed 0.61 per cent lower.

Yesterday, the Australian sharemarket closed 1.64 per cent lower at 7091.

Ex-dividends

CD Pvt Equity Fund III (ASX:CD3) is paying 19 cents unfranked
NB Global Corporate Income Trust (ASX:NBI) is paying 1.2179 cents unfranked
Partners Group Global Income Fund (ASX:PGG) is paying 1.3056 cents unfranked
Technology One (ASX:TNE) is paying 4.62 cents 60 per cent franked

Dividends payable

Bank of Queensland (ASX:BOQ)
Dicker Data (ASX:DDR)
Gale Pacific (ASX:GAP)

Sources: Bloomberg, FactSet, IRESS, TradingView, UBS, Bourse Data, Trading Economics, CoinMarketCap.

Disclaimer

The views, opinions or recommendations of the commentators in this presentation are solely those of the author and do not in any way reflect the views, opinions, recommendations, of Sequoia Financial Group Limited ABN 90 091 744 884 and its related bodies corporate (“SEQ”). SEQ makes no representation or warranty with respect to the accuracy, completeness or currency of the content. Any prices published are accurate subject to the time of filming and shouldn’t be relied upon to make a financial decision. Commentators may hold positions in stocks mentioned and companies may pay FNN to produce the content at times. The content is for educational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. Independent advice should be obtained from an Australian Financial Services Licensee before making investment decisions. To the extent permitted by law, SEQ excludes all liability for any loss or damage arising in any way including by way of negligence.
Copyright 2023 – Finance News Network