Live: ASX set to fall, day after Wall St hit record highs

Investors keen on AI data centre Firmus, which is poised to launch on the Australian stock market later this month, might have to hose down their expectations of what would have been the second-largest IPO in ASX history.

Several media outlets have reported that lower than expected demand from overseas investors means Firmus may have to cut its price from $11 to $9 a share.

If true, it's a blow for the company which was set for a blockbuster IPO at the original price, which would have made it a $43 billion listing.

Its value would drop to about $36 billion under the new price.

Either way, it's still a phenomenal jump from less than a year ago, when a private funding valued the then emerging business at $6 billion in November 2025.

And just as recently as August, another private round of funding put its value at a cool US$10.5 billion (about A$15 billion)

It comes as Firmus pulled out of appearing at a federal inquiry into AI AI inquiry today at the last minute.

Welcome to our live coverage of all things business on this very fine Thursday morning.

Alex here to take you through the day's highs and lows.

To start, the ASX is set to slide this morning, with ASX 200 futures down -0.7% to 8701.

Wall St stocks fell slightly away from their record high recorded on Wednesday local time.

The S & P 500 fell -0.2%, a day after surpassing its previous all-time high set in August, while Dow Jones was down -0.6% and the Nasdaq recorded a -0.4% drop.

Bond yields climbed as markets remain spooked about high government debt around the world, particularly in France recently.

Meanwhile, AI data centre company Firmus continues to be the talk of the town ahead of its blockbuster IPO later this month but it's not all good news.

Grab a coffee and keep reading for today's financial news.