Australian shares seen steady ahead of RBA decision
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The news: The Australian sharemarket is likely to trade in a narrow range despite overnight gains on Wall Street, with traders cautious ahead of the Reserve Bank of Australia's rate decision.
The numbers: The Dow Jones index ended 0.19% higher, while the broader S&P 500 gained 0.63% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq added 0.82%. In the local market, ASX 200 futures were up just three points or 0.04% at 7,687 points by 7:00am AEDT on Tuesday.
The context: In the US market, investors looked to balance enthusiasm for tech stocks with nervousness about the US Federal Reserve's meeting this week.
Stronger-than-expected inflation has prompted the market to rethink when and by how much US policymakers will lower rates this year, with traders pulling back the probability for a June rate cut to around 51% from 71% just a week ago, according to the CME FedWatch Tool.
In the local market too, the spotlight will be on the RBA’s policy statement at 2:30pm AEDT and governor Michele Bullock’s press conference an hour later, despite widespread expectation that the central bank will leave rates on hold.
The source: Reuters
