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

<p class="p1">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%.                  </p> <p class="p1">This report is approved and distributed in Australia by Commonwealth Securities Limited ABN 60 067 254 399 AFSL 238814 (CommSec) a wholly owned but non-guaranteed subsidiary of the Commonwealth Bank of Australia ABN 48 123 123 124 AFSL 234945 (the Bank), and a market participant of ASX Limited and CHI-X Pty Limited, a clearing participant of ASX Clear Pty Limited and a settlement participant of ASX Settlement Pty Limited. Any advice contained in this report is general advice only and is not a recommendation to buy, sell or hold any securities, property, real estate or financial products, and has been prepared without taking account of the objectives, financial or taxation situation or needs of any particular individual. Before making any investment decision, you should consider your own investment needs and objectives and consider seeking financial advice. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance. This report is produced by Commonwealth Securities Limited based on information available at the time of publishing.  We believe tha