Australian shares to open lower after mixed Wall Street session

The news: The Australian sharemarket is set to trade in a narrow range with traders taking cues from a mixed result on Wall Street.

The numbers: The Dow Jones index ended 0.17% lower, while the broader S&P 500 gained 0.23% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq added 0.34% respectively. In the local market, ASX 200 futures were down 8 points or 0.1% to 7,749 points at 7:00am AEST on Friday.

The context: The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq recorded fresh closing highs, propped up by gains in technology shares, although trading in the broader market remained lacklustre with some investors worrying the US economy may be slowing too quickly.

New data showed the number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits increased last week and another report showed producer prices unexpectedly fell in May, helping to keep alive hopes that an interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve may be on the horizon. It comes a day after the Fed projected only one rate cut this year, down from its previous estimate in March for three cuts.