ASX to rise after Wall Street gains; Nasdaq above 20,000

The news: The Australian sharemarket is set to track higher following solid gains on Wall Street, where a US inflation report firmed expectations of a Federal Reserve interest rate cut next week.

The numbers: Updated at 7:25am AEDT:

• ASX futures: up 41 points or 0.49% at 8,415 points
• Wall Street: Dow Jones down 0.10%, S&P 500 up 0.89%, Nasdaq down 1.79%
• Europe: FTSE 100 up 0.26%, CAC 40 up 0.39%, DAX up 0.34%
• Spot gold: up 0.92% to USD2,719.11 per ounce
• Oil prices: Brent up 2.11% to USD73.71/barrel, US WTI up 2.78% to USD70.50/bbl
• AUD: down 0.09% at 63.71 US cents
• Bitcoin: up 4.88% to USD101,413.50

The context: The data showed US consumer prices rose 2.7% in November, the most in seven months, though broadly in line with market expectations. Markets are now pricing in more than a 96% chance the Fed will cut rates by 25 basis points next week, up from an 86% chance before the data. That prompted a rally in tech stocks, which boosted the Nasdaq above the 20,000-point milestone for the first time.

What to watch: The Australian Bureau of Statistics will release the labour force data for November at 11:30am AEDT; and speech by RBA assistant governor (financial system) Brad Jones at the AusPayNet Summit.