ASX set to start lower as choppy Wall Street, RBA decision weigh
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The news: The Australian sharemarket is set to start lower with traders cautious amid a choppy Wall Street session on the eve of the US presidential election and ahead of a rate decision by the Reserve Bank of Australia on Tuesday.
The numbers: Updated at 7:25am AEDT:
- ASX futures: down 30 points or 0.37% at 8,158 points
- Wall Street: Dow Jones down 0.52%, S&P 500 down 0.07%, Nasdaq up 0.05%
- Europe: FTSE 100 up 0.09%, CAC 40 down 0.5%, DAX down 0.56%
- Spot gold: up 0.07% to USD2,738.42 per ounce
- Oil prices: Brent up 2.86% to USD75.19/barrel, US WTI up 3.01% to USD71.58/bbl
- AUD: up 0.4% at 65.86 US cents
- Bitcoin: down 1.73% to USD67,596.49
The context: US stocks swung between gains and losses on the last full day of an election race that polls show as extremely close. It could take days to determine the victor.
Investors are also largely pricing in a Fed interest rate cut of 25 bps at its policy announcement on Thursday, with CME's FedWatch Tool showing markets pricing in a 98% chance of a cut.
Locally, no rate cut is expected on Tuesday but traders are watching for the central bank’s signals on easing.
What to Watch: The RBA is widely expected to keep rates on hold this afternoon after a two-day board meeting. The central bank will also be publishing a new set of forecasts.
The source: Bloomberg
