US Stocks Down, Trump Tariffs Hurt Profits, ASX to Open Steady

The Australian share market is expected to open steady, despite a negative lead from Wall Street, which was dragged down by weaker-than-expected earnings from major US companies. ASX futures are up 0.1%, with several major companies releasing their financial results today, including AMP, News Corp, and REA Group. The Dow Jones index fell 0.1% to 44,112 points, while the S&P 500 lost 0.5% to 6,300 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.7% to 20,917.

The Australian share market is poised to open steady today, despite a negative lead from Wall Street, which was dragged down by weaker-than-expected earnings from major US companies. ASX futures are up 0.1%, with several major companies releasing their financial results today, including AMP, News Corp, and REA Group.

The Dow Jones index fell 0.1% to 44,112 points, while the S&P 500 lost 0.5% to 6,300 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.7% to 20,917. The Institute for Supply Management’s index of services declined last month to 50.1, below all estimates in a Bloomberg survey of economists, indicating a slowdown in the US services sector [1].

President Donald Trump said that Treasury secretary Scott Bessent had withdrawn his name from consideration as a successor to Jerome Powell as chairman of the Federal Reserve. Market highlights show ASX futures pointing up 20 points or 0.2% to 8748, with all US prices near 3.40pm New York time. The AUD is up 0.02% to US64.68¢, while Bitcoin is down 1% to $US113,597. Gold is up 0.2% to $US3380.35 an ounce, Brent oil is down 1.7% to $US67.61 a barrel, and iron ore is up 0.8% to $US102.30 a tonne [1].

Today’s agenda includes results from AMP, News Corp, REA Group, BWP Trust, Centuria Industrial REIT, Charter Hall Long WALE REIT, and Emerald Resources NL. The data focus is overseas, with New Zealand’s second-quarter employment report at 8.45am AEST. TD Securities expects the Reserve Bank of New Zealand to cut rates by 25 basis points in August, with most data outcomes coming in line with forecasts but surveys pointing to near-term downside risks to growth [1].

The article also highlights the challenges faced by Saudi Aramco, which reported a 10th consecutive quarter of profit decline due to lower oil prices and failed to cover its dividend with free cash flow. Meanwhile, Palantir reported a 48% increase in quarterly revenue, citing the “astonishing impact” of AI, and raised its revenue outlook for the year. The stock is up 4.9% in premarket trading [2].

The Australian share market is expected to remain steady, with investors closely monitoring the financial results of major companies and the impact of US economic data. The overall market sentiment is cautious, with some analysts expecting a potential pullback in equities due to high valuations and souring economic data.

References:
[1] https://www.afr.com/markets/equity-markets/asx-set-to-rise-us-stocks-edge-broadly-lower-20250806-p5mkno
[2] https://www.bloomberg.com/news/newsletters/2025-08-05/wall-street-worries-about-a-pullback-as-stocks-power-higher