Australian shares to open higher after Wall Street gains
Make us a preferred source
Make us a preferred source on Google
The news: The Australian sharemarket is set to open higher after overnight gains on Wall Street, where inflation data reinforced expectations for gradual interest rate cuts.
The numbers: The Dow Jones index ended 0.31% higher, while the broader S&P 500 gained 1.07% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq advanced 2.17%. In the local market, ASX 200 futures were up 50 points or 0.62% at 8,026 points at 7am AEST on Thursday.
The context: All three major US stock indices closed higher with a boost from the technology sector offsetting investor disappointment at an early morning inflation report that crushed hopes for a 50 basis points rate cut by the Federal Reserve next week.
The Labor Department reported the US consumer price index (CPI) rose 0.2% last month, in line with July. Core CPI, excluding volatile food and energy components, rose 0.3% on a monthly basis, exceeding economist expectations for a 0.2% rise.
It prompted traders to change their bets to a 85% probability for a 25 basis points cut by the Fed from 66% on Tuesday and the probability of a 50 basis point cut fell to 15% from 34% a day ago.
Technology shares were the biggest gainer, led by an 8% boost for AI chipmaker Nvidia.
The source: Reuters
