A tit-for-tat conflict in the Middle East, massive uncertainty over artificial intelligence spending and sluggish profit growth are creating a market minefield.

Australian shares are set to drop; Wall Street sinks late; Meta sheds 10pc as outlook misses; Microsoft rises 3pc as cloud revenue beats. Follow live.

The Australian sharemarket dropped in early trade after oil prices resumed their war-triggered rally and a slump in tech stocks dragged Wall Street down overnight amid interest…