Australian share markets reversed an early steep fall to finish slightly higher, with traders now pricing in a chance above 60 per cent that the Reserve Bank lifts interest rates at its meeting next Tuesday. Oil prices pulled back from Friday's jump but still sit at elevated levels. Mining stocks gained as commodity prices rose. The live coverage also gathers the day's business headlines and analysis from specialist reporters, and carries a note that it does not constitute investment advice.
The Dow closed one per cent higher, outperforming the S&P 500, as healthcare stocks led Wall Street's gains and hit a record high. Technology was the biggest drag on the index. Investors appeared to shift money away from tech amid doubts about AI investments, according to one investment adviser. Netflix, Meta and Alphabet fell, while SpaceX shares rose after a strong quarterly profit. Oil prices also fell after touching a five-month high.
Chip and artificial intelligence-linked stocks led a rebound on Wall Street on Monday, lifting the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite. The rally followed the sharpest weekly falls since late June, driven by concern that higher interest rates could slow spending on AI infrastructure. The Nasdaq rose 1.11 per cent, while the S&P 500 gained 0.42 per cent and the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.06 per cent. Analyst Michael James warned the market was far from out of the woods, with major technology earnings reports due in coming days.
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Wall Street closed sharply lower on Friday, with AI-related technology stocks under renewed pressure. CoreWeave and Broadcom both fell, and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 2.15 per cent. Investors worried that heavily indebted AI infrastructure companies may struggle to turn profits in time to repay debts, as borrowing costs are expected to rise. Oil prices also jumped more than three per cent on Middle East supply concerns. The S&P 500 lost 1.10 per cent and the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.36 per cent.
Fuel company Ampol has more than doubled its refining margins and describes conditions as net favourable. Wealth manager Challenger shares rose after a takeover bid from a Japanese life insurer. The ASX finished higher on Monday, avoiding a sharp sell-off on Wall Street. Investors had been worried about spending on artificial intelligence and oil prices rising to US$110 a barrel.
The cost of insuring against big technology firms defaulting on their debt has reached record highs. Data centre operator CoreWeave has been hit hardest, with its five-year credit default swap spread soaring 16 per cent to a record 1.14 per cent this week before easing to 1.03 per cent. The company has taken on more than $US50 billion in debt. Analysts say rising inflation and interest rates are increasing borrowing costs, and investors are growing anxious. Market strategist Henry Jennings called CoreWeave the canary in the coalmine for excessive big tech debt on Wall Street.
Australian shares closed the week higher, as investors weighed comments from US Federal Reserve chairman Kevin Warsh. Speaking at an IMF meeting in Bangkok, Warsh said artificial intelligence would be a major benefit to the US economy. He warned that the path to job creation and wealth would be very bumpy. Separately, HIA data shows new home sales fell 17.5 per cent in the September quarter, reversing a recovery that began in 2025.
US shares closed higher after early losses, as investors shifted from AI-related stocks into healthcare and consumer companies such as Eli Lilly and UnitedHealth. Several technology stocks fell over concerns about debt and rising interest rates. The S&P 500 gained 0.32 per cent, while the Dow Jones rose 1.08 per cent. Traders now put a 67 per cent chance on a Federal Reserve rate rise by December, after hotter-than-expected inflation data.
Shares in BHP Group have dropped 4.7 per cent. The world's biggest miner is used as a proxy for the AI trade because of its copper exposure, and that trade has cooled. Separately, the unemployment rate has risen to a five-year high of 4.7 per cent, as part-time employment fell by 73,700. Some economists say the rise is not enough to stop another RBA interest rate hike on Melbourne Cup Day.
US stocks suffered their worst day since July after a report showed inflation rising faster than expected. The S&P 500 fell 1.1 per cent, its fifth loss in six days since reaching an all-time high. Rising bond yields and higher expectations of interest rate rises by the Federal Reserve weighed on shares. Heavy losses hit artificial intelligence companies, including Nvidia and CoreWeave, while Bank of America fell 4.8 per cent after weaker profit and revenue figures.
The Nasdaq closed lower on Tuesday as chip stocks extended recent losses. The PHLX chip index fell 0.23 per cent, its fifth straight daily decline, after Broadcom chief executive Hock Tan compared some investment in the sector to casino gambling. Reports of technological advances by Chinese memory chip company CXMT added to competition concerns. Citigroup and Goldman Sachs both beat profit estimates, but their shares fell, while Wells Fargo and JPMorgan Chase also declined. Apple closed up 0.1 per cent after reaching an intraday record high.
The technology-heavy Nasdaq fell on Monday as oil prices rose nearly $US2 a barrel after deadly strikes on Riyadh's international airport. Investors turned their attention to bank earnings due early Tuesday and a busy week of economic data. The Dow rose while the S&P 500 barely fell. Technology stocks were the biggest laggards, with chip stocks falling 2.7 per cent. Traders increased their bets on a possible US interest rate rise this month.
US stocks closed higher on Wall Street, with all three major indexes gaining and logging weekly gains. Investors turned their attention to third-quarter earnings season and inflation data expected next week. The Dow rose 0.83 per cent, the S&P 500 gained 0.59 per cent and the Nasdaq rose 0.64 per cent. Telecom shares fell after SpaceX agreed to acquire a nationwide low-band spectrum portfolio, while Humana shares jumped 11.6 per cent. Apple slipped 1.1 per cent after a media report said it had told some suppliers to cut component production.
The ASX 200 rose 0.8% to 8,783 points on Monday, supported by miners and financial stocks. Telstra shed 2.5% as global telecom shares fell over fears of competition from SpaceX. Iron ore prices lifted miners, with BHP up 2.5%. Oil prices rose in the morning before easing, after a US-brokered energy ceasefire was announced over the weekend. Wage growth slowed in September, according to a Commonwealth Bank survey, which said annual wage growth held at 3.3%.
