Australian shares to start lower amid cautious sentiment
Make us a preferred source
Make us a preferred source on Google
The news: The Australian sharemarket is set to start lower, despite small overnight gains on Wall Street, as the mood remains cautious ahead of the Federal Reserve meeting that will clarify the outlook on interest rates.
The numbers: The Dow Jones index ended 0.18% higher, while the broader S&P 500 gained 0.26% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq added 0.35%. In the local market, ASX 200 futures were down 33 points or 0.42% at 7,805 points at 7:00am AEST on Monday.
The context: The S&P 500 and Nasdaq eked out record closing highs, although investors were cautious ahead of this week's US consumer prices report, the Federal Reserve policy announcement and Apple's developer conference.
The Consumer Price Index report for May is due on Wednesday night along with the conclusion of the Fed's two-day policy meeting.
The US central bank, which is expected to hold interest rates steady, will release updated economic and policy projections that will offer clues to investors on when it could begin to cut interest rates.
Traders dialled back expectations for rate cuts in September after Friday's stronger-than-expected jobs data for May, with the odds of a reduction now at 50%.
What they said: "This is an important week for the market in terms of comments and messaging from the Federal Reserve," Quincy Krosby, chief global strategist at LPL Financial in Charlotte, North Carolina told Reuters.
The source: Reuters
