Company Interview / the open: ASX to fall, Nvidia hits record

The local market is set for a negative start with ASX futures down 0.5%. On Wall Street the S&P 500 finished unchanged near its record high, whilst the Dow lost ground, but the Nasdaq gained, led by higher tech stocks. Nvidia shares touched a record high, lifting its market value to $3.75 trillion and making it the world's most valuable company. At the NATO summit in the Netherlands, leaders have backed an increase in defence spending demanded by Donald Trump, and restated their commitment to defend each other from attacks. The US dollar fell to multi-year lows against the euro and British pound but gained on the Japanese yen as traders considered the prospect of Fed rate cuts. The Australian dollar has risen above US65.1c. Oil prices recovered from a sharp slide. Brent crude futures settled 0.8% higher at $67 a barrel. Copper rose 0.8% whilst iron ore fell 0.4% to $92 a tonne. Meanwhile, gold firmed to $3332 an ounce.