- The Nasdaq fell 1.39% to close Monday?s session at 15,413 points.
- Meta rallied after expansion of Horizon Worlds to more areas in the US & Canada.
- Pfizer jumped 4.5% on acquisition of Arena Pharmaceuticals for US$6.7bn.
The US markets retreated on Monday as investors await the Federal Reserves? announcement on the US monetary policy this week following the Fed?s latest meeting on Tuesday and Wednesday.
The Dow Jones fell 0.89% to finish the trading day down 320 points to close at 35,651 points .
The tech heavy NASDAQ fell 1.39% to finish the trading day down 217 points to close at 15,413 points
One bitcoin is worth US$47,032 going into the Asian trading day. The price of the world?s largest cryptocurrency took a dive overnight after Elon Musk backed Dogecoin over Bitcoin in an interview with Time Magazine.
The Australian dollar is stronger against the major currencies and is buying 71.32 US cents.
Meta, the company formerly known as Facebook, rallied on Monday after the social media giant expanded access to Horizon Worlds, the platform and current template for the metaverse. Meta now allows admission into the metaverse for free for anyone 18 years and older using Meta?s Oculus Quest 2 headset and a Facebook account in the US and Canada.
Pfizer shares jumped 4.5% on Monday as investors piled into vaccine maker stocks amid increased demand for COVID-19 booster shots. The biotech giant also announced it has entered a deal to acquire Arena Pharmaceuticals in a deal valued around US$6.7bn. The acquisition is set to create a company with increased expertise in inflammation and immunology according to Pfizer?s global president and general manager of the inflammation and immunology division, Mike Gladstone.
And the in-demand ?Bored Ape number 3547? NFT has accidentally been sold for US$3000 instead of US$300,000 after the owner forgot a few 0s in the asking price. Minutes after it was snapped up for US$3000, it was advertised for sale again for nearly US$250,000.