Australian shares set to drift lower after Wall Street dip
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The news: The Australian sharemarket is set to start marginally lower as investors take their cues from Wall Street where higher-than-expected inflation and unemployment claims disappointed.
The numbers: The Dow Jones index provisionally ended 0.13% lower, while the broader S&P 500 slipped 0.20% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 0.05%. In the local market, ASX 200 futures were down just 3 points or 0.04% to 8,256 points at 7am AEDT on Friday.
The context: US stocks slipped after the closely watched consumer price index rose 0.2% on a monthly basis in September and 2.4% on an annual basis, with both figures being slightly higher than estimated by economists.
A separate report showed jobless claims also rose to 258,000 for the week ending 5 October, versus an estimate of 230,000.
After the economic data, traders were pricing in a roughly 80% probability that the Federal Reserve will cut rates by 25 basis points at its meeting in November and a roughly 20% chance it would leave rates unchanged, according to CME's FedWatch.
Investors are also preparing for the third-quarter earnings season, with major banks scheduled to report results later on Friday.
The source: Reuters
