Investing.com - Australian shares opened 0.2% lower on Tuesday, shadowing Wall Street's drop as investors anticipate key data releases later this week. Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) was hit by a hefty fine in Europe, and Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) tumbled following a significant dip in China shipments.
Bitcoin was seen trading above $US67,000, with market indicators suggesting a potential rise towards $US80,000 by the end of March. Gold also rallied, surpassing $US2100 an ounce, nearing its record high of $US2135.39.
Apple was slapped with a €1.8 billion ($3 billion) fine by European Union regulators for stifling competition among music streaming rivals. Despite planning to appeal, the tech giant's stock lost 2.5%.
Tesla's shares dropped by 7.2% as the company reported shipping 60,365 vehicles from its China factory in February, marking the lowest figure since December 2022 and a nearly 16% decrease month-on-month. This decline has brought Tesla's year-to-date drop close to 25%.
Meanwhile, NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) rally continues unabated, surpassing Saudi Aramco (TADAWUL:2222) as the world's third most valuable public company. Nvidia's shares closed above $US2 trillion at the end of last week and have climbed nearly 70% in 2024, adding close to $US900 billion in value.
On the other hand, Super Micro Computer Inc (NASDAQ:SMCI) saw a surge of 18%, marking an almost 300% increase in 2024. The leap followed news that the company will soon be joining the S&P 500.
On the bond markets, Australia 2-Year yields was at 3.744% and the Australia 10-Year yield was at 4.131%.