Australian stocks seen steady after small gains on Wall St

The news: The Australian sharemarket is set to start nearly steady after major US indices posted gains with investors still in cautious mode ahead of key economic data.

The numbers: The Dow Jones index edged 0.13% higher, while the broader S&P 500 gained 0.4% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq added 0.45%. In the local market, ASX 200 futures were trading just 7 points or 0.1% lower at 7111 points at 0700 AEST on Tuesday.

The context: With US Treasury yields rising further, investors continue to look to US GDP data and policymakers' remarks later in the week for clarity on the Federal Reserve’s hawkish longer-term interest rate outlook. In the local market, traders are in wait-and-watch mode ahead of monthly inflation and retail sales data due later this week.