Global Factors influencing ASX stocks on 27 October 2023

On 27 October 2023, at AEDT 12:30 PM, the benchmark index S&P/ASX 200 is trading higher today, gaining 18.30 points or 0.27%, and is currently trading at 6,830.60 levels. Out of 11 sectors, 6 are trading higher along with the S&P/ASX 200. The Consumer Staples and Utilities sectors were the top 2 gaining sectors, up by 1.36% and 0.42% in their index values.

Also read: Mid-Market: S&P/ASX 200 Trading Higher By 0.28%; Consumer Staples Sector Is Leading Today

On that note, let us look at a few global reasons impacting the stock market today:

1. Some of the key U.S. indices ended lower in their previous session. NASDAQ Composite, NASDAQ-100, Dow jones, S&P 500 ended lower by 1.76%, 1.89%, 0.76%, 1.18% respectively.

2. On Thursday, the Dow declined due to a tech slump led by Meta Platforms, with worries about slowing advertising growth outweighing strong Q3 results that exceeded analyst expectations. Meta Platforms dropped over 3% due to weakened advertising demand in the ongoing fourth quarter. Despite beating analyst estimates in Q3, concerns about growth slowdown prevailed, fueled by cost-cutting measures that improved margins.

3. In October, Tokyo's core consumer inflation, a key indicator for Japan, unexpectedly surged, indicating widespread price pressures that might sustain expectations of an imminent end to ultra-low interest rates. Tokyo's core consumer price index (CPI), excluding volatile fresh food but including fuel costs, increased by 2.7% year-on-year, surpassing market expectations of a 2.5% gain. This data reinforces the belief that the Bank of Japan (BOJ) is likely to revise its inflation forecasts upward during the upcoming policy meeting, reflecting the growing inflationary trends in the country.

4. US natural gas futures surged by 3% on Thursday, reclaiming the mid-US$3 range observed two weeks prior. This increase was prompted by a storage build for the previous week that was smaller than anticipated. Additionally, bullish investors turned to natural gas futures as a hedge against concerns related to an impending data blackout on associated gas production until mid-November. The most-active December gas contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange's Henry Hub settled 10.1 cents higher at US$3.477 per million metric British thermal unit (mmBtu), reaching a peak of US$3.543 during the session.

5. The Hang Seng and FTSE 100 is down by 0.24% and 0.81%.

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