ASX opens lower as consumer stocks weigh
Make us a preferred source
Make us a preferred source on Google
More news: Australian shares fell at the open, tracking losses on Wall Street overnight, with eight of the 11 sectoral indices in negative territory. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index was down 29.2 points, or 0.33%, to 8,848.5 at 10:30am AEST.
Consumer discretionary stocks took the biggest hit, down 0.8%, as Light & Wonder (-2.4%), Harvey Norman (-1.4%) and Wesfarmers (-0.8%) weighed on the sector.
Uranium miner Paladin Energy (-3.3%) was lower after completing its $300 million equity raise. Rivals Deep Yellow (-4.6%) and Boss Energy (-3.3%) were also among the worst performers on the ASX 200.
Meanwhile, energy stocks rallied, adding 0.7% as oil producers Karoon Energy (+3.6%) and Beach Energy (+2.5%) gained alongside coal miners Whitehaven (+4%) and Yancoal (+1.7%).
Australian shares to fall as US stocks drop before Fed rate call
The news: Australian shares are set to drop after Wall Street's three main indices all ended lower overnight, with investors cautious ahead of the US Federal Reserve's impending decision on interest rates.
The numbers: Updated at 7:30am AEST:
- ASX futures: down 40 points to 8,832
- Wall Street: Dow Jones down 0.27%, S&P 500 down 0.13% and Nasdaq down 0.07%
- Europe: CAC 40 down 1.00%, DAX down 1.77% and FTSE 100 down 0.88%
- Spot gold: up 0.30% to USD3,690 per ounce
- Oil prices: Brent flat at USD68.47/bbl and US WTI up 1.97% to USD64.55/bbl
- AUD: up 0.15% to 66.78 US cents
- Bitcoin: up 1.18% to USD116,769.
The context: US stocks pulled back even as investors remained confident in a 25 basis-point cut from the central bank at the conclusion of its two-day meeting on Wednesday (Thursday AEST).
New data overnight showed that US retail sales increased more than expected in August, but that did little to change rate cut expectations.
The Fed’s post-meeting statement is set to be released at 4am AEST on Thursday, which will also include the bank's latest quarterly rates projections.
