ASX to open lower ahead of inflation data; Wall Street ends mixed

The news: The Australian sharemarket is set to open slightly lower with investors cautious ahead of September quarter inflation data even as Wall Street’s major indices ended mixed.

The numbers: Updated at 7:25am AEDT:

• ASX futures: down 10 points or 0.12% at 8,265 points
• Wall Street: Dow Jones down 0.34%, S&P 500 up 0.19%, Nasdaq up 0.79%
• Europe: FTSE 100 down 0.8%, CAC 40 down 0.61%, DAX down 0.27%
• Spot gold: up 1.08% to USD2,772.04 per ounce
• Oil prices: Brent down 0.21% to USD71.27/barrel, US WTI down 0.09% to USD67.32/bbl
• AUD: down 0.43% at 65.56 US cents
• Bitcoin: up 3.12% to USD72,078.68

The context: On Wall Street, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq closed higher in choppy trading as investors digested scores of corporate earnings and awaited Google-parent Alphabet's results after the market close. In the local market, all eyes are on quarterly inflation data that will be important in determining the RBA’s outlook on interest rates.

What to Watch: Quarterly results from Woolworths, Pilbara Minerals, Lynas, annual general meetings for BHP, Whitehaven Coal, Bega Cheese among others, and September quarter CPI data at 11:30 AEDT.