Wall Street decline, inflation set to weigh on Australian shares
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The news: The Australian sharemarket is set to tread water ahead of local inflation data after major stock indices dropped on Wall Street amid fears of a rebound in inflation.
The numbers: Updated at 7:25am AEDT:
- ASX futures: down 9 points or 0.11% at 8,260 points
- Wall Street: Dow Jones down 0.39%, S&P 500 down 0.88%, Nasdaq down 1.62%
- Europe: FTSE 100 down 0.05%, CAC 40 up 0.59%, DAX up 0.62%
- Spot gold: up 0.45% to USD2,68.28 per ounce
- Oil prices: Brent up 1.11% to USD77.15/barrel, US WTI up 1.07% to USD74.35/bbl
- AUD: down 0.25% at 62.30 US cents
- Bitcoin: down 5.69% to USD96,413.92
The context: The technology sector led the decline in US stocks after upbeat economic data raised concerns that inflation could slow the pace of monetary policy easing by the Federal Reserve this year.
A US Labor Department report showed job openings unexpectedly increased in November, while a separate report showed services sector activity accelerated in December. It prompted benchmark 10-year Treasury yields to hit an eight-month high at 4.677%, and traders now see the next cut only in June, according to the CME Group's FedWatch tool.
What to Watch: The Australian Bureau of Statistics will release inflation figures for November, with economists expecting the data to show continued easing, as well as quarterly job vacancies data.
The source: Bloomberg
