US markets today: Wall street opens mixed as tech stocks weigh; gold climbs back above $5,000 per ounce
US equities moved in mixed territory early Wednesday, with technology stocks continuing to weigh on sentiment, while gold prices rebounded and moved back above the $5,000-per-ounce mark as investors sought safe-haven assets.The S&P 500 slipped 0.1% in early trade, coming off its fourth modest decline in the last five sessions. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 258 points, while the Nasdaq composite fell 0.6%, AP reported.Technology stocks dragged markets for a second consecutive session. However, Match Group gained after posting better-than-expected results and announcing a dividend increase. Treasury yields remained largely steady in the bond market.Futures trading ahead of the opening bell showed mild gains for broader indices, with S&P 500 and Dow futures up 0.2%, while Nasdaq futures dipped 0.2%.Among stocks that had pressured markets earlier, Nvidia and Microsoft each rose less than 1% in premarket trade. Software companies, which had faced heavy selling on concerns over artificial intelligence-led disruption, also showed signs of stabilisation. Adobe and Salesforce were down less than 1% premarket after falling about 7% each in the previous session.Investor concerns over AI disruption intensified after Anthropic announced new features for its Cowork assistant aimed at automating legal research and drafting. The development weighed on firms offering similar services, including LegalZoom and London Stock Exchange.Market participants have been rotating exposure in and out of technology stocks amid concerns around valuations and heavy spending on AI, and uncertainty over returns on such investments.Uber shares fell nearly 5% after missing profit expectations and issuing weaker-than-expected guidance for the first quarter. Walmart, meanwhile, continued to gain after becoming the first traditional retailer to cross the $1 trillion market valuation milestone earlier this week.With the US jobs report delayed due to the partial government shutdown that ended Tuesday, investors are expected to focus more heavily on corporate earnings to assess economic momentum. Alphabet is scheduled to report after market hours Wednesday, followed by Amazon on Thursday.Global markets showed mixed trends. In Europe, France’s CAC 40 rose 0.9% by midday, Germany’s DAX fell 0.4%, and Britain’s FTSE 100 advanced 1.2%.Asian markets largely closed higher. Japan’s Nikkei 225 declined 0.8% to 54,293.36, retreating from a record high. Shares of Tokyo Electron and Advantest each fell 2.1%, while SoftBank Group dropped 2.2%. Nintendo shares fell 11% despite strong earnings, as investors questioned sustainability of demand for the Switch 2 console.South Korea’s Kospi rose 1.6% to 5,371.10, with Samsung Electronics gaining nearly 1% while SK Hynix slipped 0.8%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng edged up marginally, while China’s Shanghai Composite rose 0.9%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.8%, while Taiwan’s Taiex added 0.3%. India’s Sensex rose over 0.2%.Precious metals saw strong buying interest. Gold rose 2.8% to $5,075 per ounce, while silver jumped nearly 8% to near $90 per ounce after recent volatility.“After plunging from record highs amid elevated volatility, precious metals attracted renewed buying interest,” ING Bank analysts Warren Patterson and Ewa Manthey wrote in a note, AP quoted as saying.“Safe haven demand is among factors that will remain supportive of gold prices over the medium term,” they said.In energy markets, US benchmark crude oil gained 24 cents to $63.45 per barrel, while Brent crude rose 17 cents to $67.50 per barrel.In currency markets, the US dollar strengthened to 156.64 Japanese yen from 155.77 yen, while the euro edged higher to $1.1823.
