Investing.com - Australian shares are popped 1.3% higher at Friday's open, echoing a tech-led rally on Wall Street. Optimism was aided by robust US labour data, but cautions around possible interest rate cuts limited the upward momentum.
In the US, the initial unemployment claims have reached their lowest level since 2022, casting awareness around the probability of the US central bank cutting the Fed funds target rate. Market expectations for a rate cut in March are now at 56%, down from 70% in the previous week.
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European Central Bank (ECB) cautioned its premature to discuss policy easing in its recent meeting minutes. Meanwhile, Atlanta Federal Reserve President Raphael Bostic expressed openness to rate cuts if convincing evidence of faster-than-expected inflation decline is observed in the coming months.
Iron ore prices noted a rebound on expectations of China implementing more measures to strengthen its economy. Oil prices rose amidst escalating tensions in the Middle East.
The outlook for iron ore prices is pessimistic, according to Commonwealth Bank due to persistent negative margins of Chinese steel producers, who are the largest buyers of Australian iron ore.
Bitcoin observed a decrease after the US approved spot bitcoin ETFs earlier this month.
Among individual stocks, Synlait Milk Ltd (ASX:SM1) revised its 2023/2024 forecast for milk prices upwards to $NZ7.50 ($6.98) per kilo milk solid (kgMS) from $NZ7.25 due to improving dairy prices.
Michael Hill International Ltd (ASX:MHJ) predicted a H1 FY2024 profit between $30 million and $33 million, but warned of decreasing margins due to challenging conditions.
Whitehaven Coal Ltd (ASX:WHC) delivered its quarterly production update while Kelly Partners announced trading ex-dividend.