ASX to open higher as Fed update triggers Wall Street rally
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The news: The Australian sharemarket is poised to start higher after a rally by US stocks, as the Federal Reserve kept interest rates unchanged.
The numbers: Updated at 7:30am AEDT:
- ASX futures: up 51 points, or 0.65%, to 7,884 points
- Wall Street: Dow Jones up 0.92%, S&P 500 up 1.08%, Nasdaq up 1.41%
- Europe: FTSE 100 up 0.02%, CAC 40 up 0.7%, DAX down 0.4%
- Spot gold: up 0.38% to USD3,046.19 per ounce
- Oil prices: Brent up 0.16% to USD70.89/bbl, US WTI up 0.45% to USD67.20/bbl
- AUD: down 0.08% to 63.54 US cents
- Bitcoin: up 4.51% to USD85,732.88.
The context: The Fed kept its benchmark interest rate unchanged in the 4.25%-4.50% range, and indicated that two quarter-point interest rate cuts were likely later this year, in line with market forecasts.
The central bank also warned of growing uncertainty over the economic outlook as policymakers raised inflation projections and lowered growth forecasts.
Wall Street stocks extended gains during and following the announcement from Fed chair Jerome Powell, who said it was too early to predict the impact of US tariffs on inflation, or the extent to which any price increases are driven by the new levies.
The source: Reuters
