Australian shares to fall as Fed outlook weighs on Wall Street

The news: The Australian sharemarket is set to open sharply lower, tracking declines on Wall Street after the US Federal Reserve signalled a slower pace of rate cuts next year.

The numbers: Updated at 7:25am AEDT:

• ASX futures: down 109 points or 1.31% at 8,205 points
• Wall Street: Dow Jones down 1.27%, S&P 500 down 1.38%, Nasdaq down 1.82%
• Europe: FTSE 100 up 0.05%, CAC 40 up 0.26%, DAX down 0.02%
• Spot gold: down 1.97% to USD2,594.80 per ounce
• Oil prices: Brent down 0.19% to USD73.05/barrel, US WTI up 0.2% to USD70.22/bbl
• AUD: down 1.75% at 62.27 US cents
• Bitcoin: down 4.32% to USD1001,435.80

The context: The Fed overnight cut rates by 25 basis points to the 4.25%-4.50% range, but its summary of economic projections (SEP) indicated policymakers now expect to make two interest rate cuts by the end of 2025, down from four in September, and set up the likelihood of a pause in January. It pushed stocks lower while the US dollar gained strength as benchmark Treasury yields moved higher on the news.

What to Watch: Annual general meeting for ANZ.