Australian shares to start lower despite Wall Street gains
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The news: The Australian sharemarket is likely to start on the back foot as local investors turn cautious despite the rally on Wall Street extending further.
The numbers: The Dow Jones index closed 0.67% higher, while the broader S&P 500 gained 0.31% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq added 0.19%. In the local market, ASX 200 futures were down 14 points or 0.18% at 7825 points at 7:00am AEDT on Friday.
The context: All three major US stock indexes registered fresh closing highs for the second day in a row after the Federal Reserve reassured investors about the prospects for three-quarters of a percentage point in rate cuts this year.
Economic data released overnight added to investors' bullish moods, with signs the US economy remained on solid footing. The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits unexpectedly fell last week, while sales of previously owned homes increased by the most in a year in February.
In the local market, attention will be firmly fixed on the Reserve Bank’s half yearly Financial Stability Report.
What they said: "Earnings results are keeping semiconductors as market leaders but more broadly a risk on mode has stemmed from the dovish Fed on Wednesday," Matthew Miskin, Co-Chief Investment Strategist at John Hancock Investment Management told Reuters.
The source: Reuters
