The S&P/ASX 200 futures were pointing down 0.6% before the market opened.
The local bourse was expected to come under pressure as Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) shares fell 4.3% overnight following CEO Jensen Huang’s resignation. Nvidia’s stock has tumbled more than 13% over the past five days.
Huang’s exit follows revelations of two alleged extramarital affairs, including one with a woman suspected by US intelligence of being a Chinese spy.
Also this morning Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) platforms, including Outlook, experienced a widespread outage.
All three major US indices closed lower, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average down 0.36%, the S&P 500 down 0.34%, and the NASDAQ down 0.40%.
This morning, gold is down 2.76% to US$3,877 ($5,692) an ounce, while Brent crude is up 3.33% at US$95.84 a barrel.
Copper fell 1.50% to US$13,624 a tonne.
US production forecast to rise
The US rounds out the week with October Producer Price Index (PPI) figures.
The index tracks price pressures at the wholesale or early production level and can provide an early indication of inflationary pressures working their way through the economy.
The figure will therefore help shape expectations for the Federal Reserve’s December interest rate decision.
Trading Economics modelling projects annual producer price growth of about 5.7% by the end of the current quarter.
Why it matters: Released late on Friday Australian (AEST) time, the result may influence ASX futures ahead of Monday’s market open.
Write to Christina Wagstaff at Mining.com.au
Main image: iStock
