Banks boost ASX, Wall Street slides after OpenAI warning

The Australian sharemarket has risen at the open with banks driving gains despite falls on Wall Street, with technology stocks slumping after a report said OpenAI’s revenue may be lower than forecast.

The S&P/ASX 200 was up 38.7 points, or 0.5 per cent, to 8699.6 in early trade, with six of 11 industry sectors in positive territory.

Financial stocks advanced across the board with Westpac rising 1 per cent while Commonwealth Bank, National Australia Bank and ANZ Bankadded 0.9 per cent.

Technology stocks are higher despite sharp falls for technology stocks on Wall Street. Codan added 0.9 per cent, WiseTech gained 1.6 per cent, Xero advanced 2.2 per cent, Technology One climbed 1.2 per cent and NEXTDC gained 0.8 per cent.

Meanwhile, data centre start-up Firmus has withdrawn its plans for a blockbuster listing on the ASX after investors balked at the price and terms, scrapping an initial public offering that would have valued the Australian company at about $43.7 billion.

Mining stocks are mixed. BHP lost 0.3 per cent, Fortescue shed 0.6 per cent while Rio Tinto was 0.3 per cent higher. Gold miners are higher after the price of the precious metal rose from a two-month low, with traders assessing the outlook for energy prices after President Donald Trump said the US would not attack Iran before the midterm elections. Bullion climbed as much as 0.9 per cent to trade near $US4146 an ounce. Northern Star added 0.5 per cent and Evolution Mining was 0.7 per cent higher.

Energy stocks are mixed as oil prices eased in early Asian trade after Trump’s Iran announcement. West Texas Intermediate dropped toward $US91 barrel while Brent closed above $US104. Woodside Energy dipped 0.3 per cent and Santos added 0.2 per cent in early trade while Ampol was flat and Viva Energy shed 0.9 per cent.

Overnight, the S&P 500 dipped 0.5 per cent for its second-straight loss after setting its all-time high. The Dow Jones closed flat and the Nasdaq finished 1.3 per cent lower.

Nvidia, the chip company that’s ridden the tidal wave of demand created by the artificial-intelligence technology frenzy, fell 2.9 per cent and was one of Thursday’s heaviest weights on the S&P 500. Tech and AI-linked stocks fell around midday amid multiple bearish headlines. The Financial Times reported OpenAI’s annualised revenue is $US20 billion ($28.7 billion) less than previously signalled. Oracle slid following a report it was trucking natural gas to server farms as a workaround to power bottlenecks.

That was even though a bellwether for the chip industry, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., reported growth for September that suggested its revenue for the latest quarter was strong enough to top analysts’ expectations. TSMC’s stock that trades in the United States fell 1.4 per cent.

Wall Street also felt pressure from more sharp swings within the bond market.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury veered from 5.28 per cent late on Wednesday to 5.35 per cent early on Thursday morning.