Wall St losses, local GDP to weigh on Australian stocks

The news: The Australian sharemarket is poised to open weaker as investors stay cautious after major US indices ended lower and ahead of quarterly GDP data.

The numbers: The Dow Jones index fell 0.56%, the broader S&P 500 closed 0.42% lower, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq slipped 0.08%. In the local market, ASX 200 futures were trading 18 points or 0.25% lower at 7266 points at 0700 AEST on Wednesday. Traders expect weaker GDP growth of 0.4% in the June quarter.

The context: Sentiment in US markets turned weaker overnight amid higher oil prices and as investors await fresh trade and services data this week to assess the Federal Reserve’s future path on interest rates. Local trading is also set to be range bound as investors await the GDP reading when data is released at 1130 AEST.