Australian shares poised to slip as commodities ease

The news: The Australian sharemarket is set to start its final trading session for 2023 on the back foot amid easing commodities prices, despite major stock indices on Wall Street drifting slightly higher overnight.

The numbers: The Dow Jones index was trading 0.22% higher, the broader S&P 500 was up 0.17% - still tantalisingly close to a record high, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq was 0.14% ahead. In the local market, ASX 200 futures were trading 26 points or 0.34% lower at 7581 points at 0700 AEDT on Friday.

The context: All three major US stock indices edged higher on firming bets of interest rate cuts in the coming year. Data released overnight, including jobless claims, pending home sales and preliminary trade/inventories all painted a picture of a softening but resilient US economy, helping cement expectations that the Federal Reserve might cut its cash rate sooner than expected. However, sentiment in the local market is expected to be cautious after prices of iron ore, oil and gold all eased following a recent rally.