On Wednesday, global stocks slipped ahead of expected results from chipmaker Nvidia.

The dollar’s performance varied as investors awaited insights from the Federal Reserve’s last policy meeting about possible interest rate cuts.

The MSCI’s gauge of stocks across the globe fell 0.30% to 745.92, while in Europe, the pan-regional STOXX 600 index dropped by 0.29%, pulled lower by HSBC.

In New York, Wall Street echoed these declines with the tech-heavy Nasdaq leading the way.

Investors waited nervously for Nvidia’s earnings report, which could dampen this year’s AI enthusiasm if the results are not impressive.

Moreover, they also awaited minutes from the Federal Reserve’s latest policy meeting.

Meanwhile, European shares suffered from a drop in banking shares following a disappointing earnings report from HSBC.

Investors eagerly awaited minutes from the Federal Reserve’s last meeting for any clues on the central bank’s rate outlook.

Asian stocks had a mixed performance; Japan’s benchmark stock index finished lower for a second day, as traders waited for U.S.

chipmaker Nvidia’s financial results, whereas Chinese stocks rose for a seventh straight session buoyed by policy efforts to boost market confidence and support the struggling property sector.

Australian shares extended losses on Wednesday, led by mining stocks and concerns about demand in China.

In South Korea, shares extended losses due to profit-booking pressures, but recovered some of their early losses as the country’s pension fund pledged to support the government’s corporate reform plan.

In the foreign exchange market, the yen edged up against the dollar, and the euro fell.

Dollar movements were muted before the Federal Reserve’s release of minutes from its latest meeting and as investors waited on fresh data for further clues on Fed policy.

In the commodity market, gold prices edged up as tensions in the Middle East fueled a rush into safe-haven assets.

Aluminium prices rose to a three-week high on Wednesday on anticipation of an announcement from the United States on sanctions against Russia over the death of opposition leader Alexei Navalny, which could disrupt supplies.

Oil prices rose about 1% in the afternoon trade as geopolitical tensions continued to rage in the Middle East, and traders assessed signs of near-term supply tightness.

According to Citi, they have upgraded their forecast for Australia’s Integral Diagnostics' (ASX: IDX) EBITDA for FY24.

The company recently announced its half-year revenue to be A$231.3 million ($151.22 million) a 7.2% increase.

Citi noted that the company’s half-year NPAT of A$7.4 million fell in line with expectations.

The institutional investor stated that Integral Diagnostics' impairment loss of A$71.5 million in its New Zealand segment didn’t come as a surprise given the shift in the competitive landscape observed in the past few years.

Although the brokerage firm increased its forecast for FY25 EBITDA by 1%, they reduced the FY26 EBITDA forecast by 4%.

Citi maintained a ‘neutral’ rating but elevated its price target to A$2.20.

According to LSEG data, out of 14 analysts, six advise to ‘buy’ or higher, seven hold the current position, and one suggests to ‘sell’ or lower.

The median price target indicated is A$2.35.

Integral Diagnostics is a healthcare company specializing in the delivery of diagnostic imaging services in Australia and New Zealand.

Middle East crude benchmark Dubai, for the fourth consecutive day, experienced a surge, with three more cargoes being delivered on the Platts window.

PTT, representing Thai refiner IRPC, purchased a pair of Murban cargoes from Glencore and BP at premiums of $1.20-$1.30 a barrel to Dubai quotes, traders disclosed.

Rongsheng Petrochemical, a Chinese refiner, will end a tender on Thursday to procure crude that will be loaded in April or delivered between April 15 and May 31.

PV Oil was able to sell its April loading cargoes at higher premiums than in the former month, according to traders.

Exxon Mobil purchased all three Su Tu Den cargoes for premiums above $7 a barrel to dated Brent, while domestic refiner Binh Son acquired the Chim Sao cargo at a premium approaching $8 per barrel.

Furthermore, Cash Dubai’s premium to swaps ascended 8 cents reaching $1.16 a barrel.

Trafigura will receive an Oman cargo from Koch, while Mitsui will get an April-loading Upper Zakum crude cargo from Reliance and an Oman cargo from Gunvor.

Notably, Australian gas producer Santos (ASX:STO) reported a worse-than-anticipated 42% plummet in annual profit due to weaker gas prices and production.

The company also suggested that it is seeking to enhance its valuation after its merger discussions with larger competitor Woodside fell through.

Santos is a leading gas producing company in Australia.

Europe’s share markets are preparing for a cautious start, buoyed by gains in China, while market observers pay close attention to any performance signals from Nvidia, an AI industry darling, as it prepares to disclose results after the U.S market close.

The futures of EuroSTOXX50 and FTSE were reported to be up by 0.1% and maintaining a level balance respectively.

Meanwhile, contracts for S&P 500 saw a slight decrease following a lower close on Wall Street the previous day.

In terms of corporate developments, HSBC (LSE:HSBA), registered a record annual profit which fell short of analysts' predictions.

The bank’s increased income courtesy of higher interest rates was offset by the $3 billion hit due to its stake in a Chinese bank, leading to an anticipated 3% drop in the London shares, mirroring losses in Hong Kong.

The mining sector is positioned to come under scrutiny with Glencore reporting that lower commodity prices had halved its 2023 earnings and cut shareholder payouts as the company holds back funds to finance the acquisition of a 77% stake in Teck Resources' metallurgical coal business.

Rio Tinto’s performance was found to be in line with expectations as production increments in its iron ore business balanced weaker prices for Aluminium, although the company also expressed caution about increasing costs.

Reports indicate that Saint-Gobain, the French construction materials group, is in preliminary discussions to buy over the Australian building materials company, CSR.

And in the beverage sector, coffee company DE Peet’s projects 2024 organic sales growth at the lower end of its mid-term expectations after surprise growth in last year’s earnings.

HSBC (LSE:HSBA) is a multinational banking and financial services organization that provides a range of financial services to millions of customers worldwide.

Ecograf (ASX:EGR) has announced its collaboration with BASF on anode recycling.

The company has signed a non-binding Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with BASF to support BASF’s recycling research and development in Europe.

Ecograf (ASX:EGR) is a leading supplier of advanced, complex material solutions for a wide variety of sectors.

Investors are keeping a close watch on key market developments related to French and Benelux companies.

Among them, Europe’s largest retailer, Carrefour (ASX:CSR), expressed confidence in its 2024 outlook, reporting record cash flow of 1.62 billion euros last year.

Profits in its French market rose by 18.5% amid high inflation.

In relation, Danone, a leading French dairy products manufacturer, aims to divest its Russian business to a businessman linked to Chechnya.

This move comes following a temporary takeover of the company’s Russian operations by Moscow.

Further, French construction materials provider Saint-Gobain has entered preliminary discussions to acquire CSR, an Australian building materials corporation.

JDE Peet’s, one of the globe’s major coffee enterprises, projected organic sales growth for 2024, aligning with market predictions.

Universal Music Group intends to purchase a 25.8% share in Chord Music Partners, worth $240 million, a transaction that will lead to KKR’s departure from the music catalogue owner’s capital.

Airbus, the largest planemaker in Europe, received an order for 10 additional A220-300 aircraft from U.S.

airline Breeze Airways.

CSR is an Australian building materials company.

French construction materials group Saint-Gobain is in preliminary discussions to acquire Australia’s building materials firm CSR (ASX:CSR), according to Bloomberg News citing individuals familiar with the matter.

The report was authored by Kanjyik Ghosh and edited by Sonia Cheema.

CSR is an Australian building materials company.

The Australian Federation of Air Pilots announced on Wednesday that a potential strike from Qantas Airways (ASX:QAN) Network Aviation pilots has been suspended.

The pilots, currently involved in a pay dispute with the carrier, had planned to strike later this week.

The decision to suspend the strike was prompted by a request from the Western Australian government, due to the high risks posed by former Tropical Cyclone Lincoln in the northwestern region of the state.

Qantas Airways: An Australian flag carrier airline, engaged in the operation of international and domestic air transportation services.

The Australian tech index soared as much as 3.4% to reach its pinnacle since early January 2022.

Leading the way was tech giant Wisetech Global (ASX:WTC), whose shares rose as much as 13% to A$90.230 in response to an 8% rise in their statutory net profit after tax for the last half of the year.

Additionally, Xero (ASX:XRO) experienced a 1.6% increase in their stock value.

So far this year, the sub-index has increased 9.4% as of the last closing.

Wisetech Global is a Sydney-based multinational technology company specializing in software solutions for the global logistics industry.

Shares of Iress (ASX:IRE) declined by 11.1% to A$7.75 before making a slight recovery, ending the day down approximately 3.4%.

This financial services provider reported a full-year statutory net loss after tax of A$137.5 million, a stark contrast to the previous year’s profit of A$52.7 million.

Despite the losses, the company reported a growth in operating revenue of 2% to A$625.7 million.

During the day, around 1.2 million shares changed hands, significantly more than the 30-day average volume of 417,444 shares.

This has reduced the stock’s year-to-date gains from 7% to 3.3% as of the last close.

Iress is a leading provider of technology for wealth management, financial markets and trading industries.