- The Nasdaq closed 0.89% lower at 14,526 on Wednesday.
- Robinhood soared almost 7% on Q2 results before plunging amid Q3 warning.
- Walmart topped estimates for Q2 results including US$141.05bn revenue.
The US markets closed lower again on Wednesday as the minutes from the July FOMC policy meeting were released, confirming the Fed's are going ahead with easing the central bank?s bond buying program in the near future despite economic uncertainty as the Delta COVID-19 strain spreads.
The Dow Jones fell 1.08% to finish the trading day down 383 points to close at 34,961 points .
The tech heavy NASDAQ fell 0.89% to finish the trading day down 130 points to close at 14,526 points
One bitcoin is worth US$45,024 going into the Asian trading day.
The Australian dollar is firm against the major currencies and is buying 72.36 US cents.
Shares in Robinhood surged just under 7% on Wednesday after the trading app reported second quarter results. For the period, Robinhood reported soaring 131% to US$565m as the result of a surge in crypto trading, while assets under management skyrocketed 205% to US$102bn. In after-hours trade Robinhood shares plummeted as the company issued a warning to investors that third-quarter results could be affected by a slowdown in trading.
Retail giant Walmart released second-quarter earnings results that well exceeded Wall St expectations. For the quarter, Walmart reported an EPS of US$1.78/share, exceeding the expected US$1.57/share, and revenues of US$141.05bn, above the expected US$137.17bn, boosted by strong back-to-school sales and increasing grocery orders.
And the US SEC has charged three former Netflix engineers for insider trading on nonpublic information around the company?s subscriber growth that turned over $3m in profit.