Morning Report 21 Jan 22: Steep opening loss seen for ASX after similar experience for Wall St

US sharemarkets fell sharply in the final hour of trade. But shares in Travelers (up 3.2%) and Baker Hughes (up 1.6%) rose after posting earnings results. Shares in 'stay-at-home' stock Peloton fell 23.9% on a report indicating that it was pausing production of fitness equipment. At the close, the Dow Jones index was down by 313 points or 0.9% after earlier being up 462 points. The S&P 500 index fell by 1.1%. And the Nasdaq index fell by 186 points or 1.3%. European sharemarkets ended generally higher on Thursday. Travel stocks led the gains (up 2.9%) after Ryanair (up 4.2%) expressed confidence about a recovery in travel demand later this year. The pan-European STOXX 600 index rose by 0.5%. The German Dax index rose by 0.7% despite data showing a record rise in German producer prices in December. But the UK FTSE index eased by 0.1%. In London trade, shares in Rio Tinto fell by 1.3% while BHP shares rose by 1.2%.                  

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