The Australian sharemarket is set to open lower after hits to software and private credit stocks spurred losses on Wall Street.
ASX futures were down 44 points to 9,003. The ASX 200 closed 0.9% higher on Thursday, supported by the energy, information technology, and materials sectors.
In the United States, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite each lost 0.3%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.5%.
Private credit stocks sank after Blue Owl Capital said it would sell US$1.4 billion in loan assets. Blue Owl shed 5.9%, with Blackstone falling 5.4% and Apollo Global Management down 5.2%.
Investors continued to exit software stocks, with Salesforce dropping 1.3%, Intuit declining 2.1%, and Adobe dipping 1.5%.
The possibility of U.S. strikes on Iran also weighed on markets, with U.S. President Donald Trump saying it would be clear “over the next probably 10 days” whether the two countries would reach a deal to limit Iran’s nuclear program. The U.S. has continued to escalate its military buildup in the region, with its largest aircraft carrier currently heading towards the Middle East.
Australia’s earnings season will continue today, meanwhile. Companies including QBE Insurance, Guzman Y Gomez, and Mineral Resources are reporting before the market opens.
S&P Global’s Australian manufacturing and services purchasing managers' indexes for February will also be released today.
On the bond market, two-year yields were up 0.05% to 4.246%, while 10-year yields rose 0.04% to 4.768%.
