While Wall Street’s Nasdaq lifted on Friday, boosted by companies focused on artificial intelligence, the performance of the ASX’s tech stocks on Monday was mixed. WiseTech lost 4.2 per cent, Xero and TechnologyOne were steady, but NextDC soared 6.6 per cent.
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Seven West Media fell 4 per cent after its shareholders threw their support behind Southern Cross Media’s acquisition of the company, a merger backed by chairman and controlling shareholder Kerry Stokes which will effectively bring to an end his reign at Seven. The deal will join Southern Cross’ Triple M Network and Melbourne’s The Fox radio station with Seven’s The West Australian newspaper and the Seven Network, which boast AFL and cricket broadcast rights.
On Wall Street, the S&P 500 rose 59.74 points, or 0.9 per cent, to 6834.50 on Friday. It notched a 0.1 per cent gain for the week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 183.04 points, or 0.4 per cent, to 48,134.89.
The technology-heavy Nasdaq made the biggest move. It rose 301.26 points, or 1.3 per cent, to 23,307.62 and notched a 0.5 per cent gain for the week.
Nvidia was the biggest force driving Wall Street higher, with a 3.9 per cent gain. Broadcom jumped 3.2 per cent.
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The technology sector has been fuelling Wall Street throughout the year, but its pricey stock values have come under more scrutiny from investors wondering whether they are justifiable.
Company earnings and how companies are performing amid tariffs and inflation were a key focus for Wall Street.
Nike slumped 10.5 per cent, as the impact from tariffs overshadowed an otherwise strong quarterly profit report. Frozen potato maker Lamb Weston fell 25.9 per cent despite also beating Wall Street’s profit and revenue forecasts.
A survey from the University of Michigan showed that consumer sentiment in December improved slightly from November, but is deeply diminished from a year ago.
Confidence has been weakening throughout the year as persistent inflation squeezes consumers. The job market is also slowing while retail sales weaken.
The latest inflation update on Thursday revealed a surprise cooling of prices in November. The Labor Department reported that its consumer price index rose 2.7 per cent. But economists quickly warned that those numbers were suspect because they’d been delayed and probably distorted by the 43-day federal shutdown.
“The wave of economic data did little to provide clarity for investors this week, keeping the market in the trading range it has been in since September,” said Mark Hackett, chief market strategist at Nationwide, in a note to investors.
Inflation is still above the Federal Reserve’s 2 per cent target. The central bank cut its benchmark interest rate at its most recent meeting. It has been concerned about the slowing job market hurting the economy. But cutting interest rates could add more fuel to inflation, which could also stunt economic growth.
The Fed has maintained a cautious stance about interest rate policy heading into 2026 and Wall Street is mostly betting that it will hold steady on rates at its next meeting in January.
With AP
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