ASX 200 eyes 8000 milestone, to track gains on Wall Street
Make us a preferred source
Make us a preferred source on Google
The news: The Australian sharemarket is set to open higher, tracking solid gains on Wall Street on Friday where bets firmed up that the US Federal Reserve will cut interest rates in September.
The numbers: The Dow Jones index ended 0.62% higher to close above the 40,000-level, while the broader S&P 500 climbed 0.55% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq advanced 0.63%. In the local market, ASX 200 futures were up 51 points or 0.64% to 7,992 points at 7:00am AEST on Monday.
The context: US stocks closed higher on Friday as the rotation to small and mid-caps continued on bets of interest rate cuts. With stock indices trading around record highs, investors are betting on strong profit growth from companies beyond Nvidia and other heavyweights. New data showed US producer prices were slightly hotter-than-expected in June but that did little to change expectations on the first rate cut in September, as it followed data showing a surprise fall in US consumer prices on Thursday.
Traders are betting on a 94% chance of a rate cut by September, up from 78% a week ago, according to CME Group's FedWatch.
In the local market, investors will be eyeing the 8000-points milestone for the benchmark ASX 200 index.
The source: Reuters
