Australian shares to drop after modest Wall Street rebound

The news: The Australian sharemarket is set to open lower, despite major indices on Wall Street staging a modest recovery a day after the Federal Reserve-induced selloff.

The numbers: Updated at 7:25am AEDT:

• ASX futures: down 41 points or 0.5% at 8,124 points
• Wall Street: Dow Jones up 0.30%, S&P 500 up 0.24%, Nasdaq up 0.25%
• Europe: FTSE 100 down 1.14%, CAC 40 down 1.22%, DAX down 1.35%
• Spot gold: up 0.52% to USD2,598.72 per ounce
• Oil prices: Brent down 0.98% to USD72.67/barrel, US WTI down 0.95% to USD69.91/bbl
• AUD: up 0.37% at 62.41 US cents
• Bitcoin: down 3.62% to USD96,287.96

The context: US stocks saw a minor recovery from the sharp drop in the prior session after the Federal Reserve forecast fewer-than-expected interest rate cuts next year, while benchmark US Treasury yields climbed to their highest level since May.

Fresh data showed weekly initial jobless claims fell more than expected while US GDP for the third quarter was revised to show a 3.1% increase from the previously reported 2.8% pace. Traders now see just one quarter-point rate reduction by mid-2025, and less than two cuts in total by the end of the year.