Pre-Market Report – Wednesday 20 August: US markets slip as chips fall | Results in focus

Wall Street recorded a negative session as Tech dragged the broader market down, falling ahead of the Jackson Hole summit which begins on Thursday in the US. S&P 500 down 0.59%, Nasdaq fell 1.46%. Dow rose at the open but fell after the first hour, briefly dropping into the red before recovering to finish flat. Closed near the low, up 10 points.  Primarily strong sector performance with Tech the main drag. Tech fell a little over 1.5% with Nvidia leading the sell-off, down 3.5%, its biggest drop in nearly four months. Cyclicals also saw some weakness while Energy and Financials were flat. Every other sector up. REITs the biggest beneficiary after showing weakness in the previous session, easing yields a boost, as was better-than-expected housing data. Staples also recorded gains of over 1%.

In corporate news, Home Depot climbed 3.2% despite missing earnings estimates, while rival Lowe’s added 2.2% ahead of its own results. Focus will shift to Walmart and Target, with upcoming reports expected to shed light on consumer resilience. Intel jumped 7.0% after securing a $2Bn capital lifeline from Japanese SoftBank. Palo Alto Networks rose 3.1% on upbeat long-term guidance, while Medtronic fell 3.1% as Elliott Management’s stake prompted board changes.

Resources down. Oil down as Russian sanctions are expected to ease soon after talks. Copper, nickel and aluminium all down.

ASX to rise. SPI futures up 17 points (+0.19%). Results in focus. TCL TLC BRG CWY APA

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