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Wall Street closed lower at the end of the midweek session as investors braced for the release of Nvidia’s Q2 earnings results that were released after the closing bell. The Dow Jones fell 0.39% on Wednesday, the S&P500 lost 0.6% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq ended the day down 1.12%. Nvidia’s results have fast become one of the most important pieces of data the market analyses for outlook on growth in the AI revolution. For the second quarter, Nvidia reported record quarterly revenue of US$30bn, up 15% on Q1 and a rise of 122% from a year ago, record quarterly data centre revenue of $26.3bn was also reported which is a rise of 16% on Q1 and 154% from a year ago. In after-hours trade, Nvidia shares are down over 6.5% despite the company posting outlook for revenue growth to US$32.5bn in Q3.

Over in Europe on Wednesday, markets closed mostly higher in the region on strong corporate earnings results out in the region. The STOXX 600 rose 0.33%, Germany’s DAX added 0.54%, the French CAC rose 0.16%, and in the UK, the FTSE100 ended the day down just 0.02%.

Across the Asia region on Wednesday markets closed mixed as investors digested key economic data out in the region. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 1.05% on Wednesday, China’s CSI index lost 0.57%, Japan’s Nikkei rose 0.22% and South Korea’s Kospi Index closed flat on Wednesday.

Locally on Wednesday, the ASX200 closed flat as investors responded to corporate earnings results and the release of key inflation data that came in slightly hotter-than-expected. Australia’s monthly CPI indicator rose 3.5% in the 12-months to July 2024, down from 3.8% in June, but above the 3.4% economists were expecting. The greatest contributors to the 3.5% rise for July were housing up 4%, food and non-alcoholic beverages up 3.8%, alcohol and tobacco up 7.2% and transport up 3.4%. The nation’s core inflation which strips out volatile metrics including fuel, fruit and holiday travel, was 3.7% for the year to July, down from 4% in June.

Woolworths shares rallied 3.4% on Wednesday after the supermarket giant reported strong FY24 results including a special dividend of 40cps.

Travel agency group Flight Centre also rallied nearly 2% yesterday after releasing FY24 results outlining airfares moderated and travel demand remained strong over the last financial year, with total transaction value topping $23.7bn for FY24, which was $1.8 bn more than FY23.

Fortescue shares fell 2% yesterday despite the mining giant reporting an 18% jump in net profit for FY24 to $8.4bn. Investors likely sold out due to the near $1bn loss reported for Fortescue’s green energy division.

What to watch today:

• Ahead of the local trading session here in Australia, the SPI futures are anticipating the ASX to open the day down 0.27% tracking turbulence on Wall St overnight.
• On the commodities front this morning, oil is trading 1.44% lower at US$74.45/barrel, gold is down 0.7% at US$2508/ounce and iron ore is up 0.15% at US$98.45/tonne.
• AU$1.00 is buying US$0.67, 97.94 Japanese Yen, 51.36 British Pence and NZ$1.09 cents.

Trading Ideas:

• Bell Potter has increased the rating on Fortescue (ASX:FMG) from a sell to a hold and have raised the 12-month price target on the mining giant from $17.41 to $17.58 following the release of the company’s FY24 results with the belief subdued outlook in priced into the current market price. FY24 results were reported broadly in-line with market expectations with moderately lower NPAT due to higher tax and D&A charges. The analyst believes the results in FY24 were solid but subdued iron ore outlook and interest rate differentials pointing to a stronger AUD to USD exchange rate, will pressure build on FMG’s margins.
• And Trading Central has identified a bullish signal on NRW Holdings (ASX:NWH) following the formation of a pattern over a period of 8-days which is roughly the same amount of time the share price may rise from the close of $3.55 to the range of $4.15 to $4.30 according to standard principles of technical analysis.
  And that’s all for this morning, have a wonderful day and happy investing.