Australian shares to start lower in line with Wall Street decline
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The news: The Australian sharemarket is set to start lower, following a subdued session on Wall Street, where investors await economic data to assess the Federal Reserve’s path for interest rates.
The numbers: The Dow Jones index closed 0.05% lower, the broader S&P 500 fell 0.27% while the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 0.42%.
In the local market, ASX 200 futures were down 19 points or 0.24% at 7,819 points at 7:00am AEDT on Wednesday.
The context: US stocks struggled for upward momentum, giving up modest gains late in the session. The focus remains on a key reading of the personal consumption expenditures price index, the Fed's preferred inflation gauge, which is due on Friday, when US markets will be shut for the Good Friday holiday.
Markets have been slowly increasing expectations the central bank will cut rates by at least 25 basis points in June, currently pricing in a 70.4% chance compared to 59.2% last week.
In the local market, the spotlight will be on inflation data for February, due at 11:30am AEDT.
The source: Reuters
