Australian shares to fall after Wall Street sell-off

The news: The Australian sharemarket is set to open the week lower, tracking sharp losses on Wall Street on Friday where a weaker-than-expected US jobs report showed a continued labour market slowdown.

The numbers: The Dow Jones index ended 1.01% lower, while the broader S&P 500 fell 1.73% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq tumbled 2.55%. In the local market, ASX 200 futures were down 102 points or 1.3% to 7,883 points at 7am AEST on Monday.

The context: All three major US indices ended lower on Friday, weighed down by a jobs report that left traders concerned that rate cuts by the US Federal Reserve starting this month may be too late for the economy to achieve a soft landing.

Traders' bets for a 25-basis point (bps) rate cut in September stood at 73%, according to the CME Group's FedWatch Tool, while those for a 50-bps reduction in rates were at 27%, down from a brief rise to 51% after the report. Fed governor Christopher Waller said "the time has come" for the US central bank to begin a series of interest rate cuts, adding he is open-minded about the size and pace.