Australian shares are set to open modestly higher after tech shares dropped on Wall Street overnight. The fall came in part because of a report that OpenAI is struggling to generate revenue, leading the Nasdaq Composite down more than 1 per cent.
ASX 200 futures were up 19 points or 0.2 per cent to 8715 near 7am (AEDT), reversing earlier modest losses. In New York, the S&P 500 was 0.5 per cent lower, with information tech pacing losses in five of the 11 industry sectors.
A key semiconductor index slumped 3.4 per cent, paring earlier losses late in the session. Among the losers: Broadcom shed 4.4 per cent; AMD was 3.9 per cent lower; and, Nvidia slid 3 per cent. Intel tumbled 5.3 per cent.
Trading was active with shares fluctuating after President Donald Trump said in a social media post that the US was having “productive” talks with Iran and that the US will not attack Iran before the November 3 midterms.
At the same time, hundreds of flights in and out of Riyadh have been cancelled as the fight between the Saudis and Houthis intensifies.