Pre-Market Report – Tuesday 12 August: US markets drift lower | RBA today, CPI tonight

Wall Street recorded a negative session as markets await tonight’s inflation release to gauge the path of rates and the inflationary effects of tariffs. S&P 500 down 0.25%, Nasdaq down 0.30%. Dow dropped at the open, almost fully recovered by noon, but then continued to fall. Closed near low, down 201 points. Mixed sector performance. Energy, REITs and Industrials all down despite oil rising and yields being rather flat. At the opposite end, Cyclicals was up, benefitting from Tesla’s 2.8% rise, while Healthcare and Staples also recorded slim gains.

In corporate news, Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices slipped 0.35% and 0.28% after agreeing to hand 15% of China chip sales revenue to the US government, a move seen pressuring margins. Micron jumped 4% on upgraded Q4 revenue and profit guidance, while Intel rose 3.5% as its CEO visited the White House. TKO leapt 10% after Paramount bought the exclusive rights to UFC distribution in a $7.7Bn deal.

Resources mixed. Oil rose on US-Russia talks. Copper, aluminium and zinc all fell while nickel rose, as did iron ore on Chinese steel mill demand.

ASX to fall. SPI futures down 13 points (-0.15%).

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