The local market is set to open higher this morning with the ASX SPI 200 Futures trading up 17 points or 0.2% at 8,178.
US markets were mixed overnight as investors pondered the US Federal reserve’s path of interest rate cuts and awaited Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU)'s earnings for details on artificial intelligence demand.
The Dow Jones index fell by 293 points or 0.7%, snapping a four-day winning streak and the S&P 500 index dipped 0.2% after both indexes hit records in early trading. The tech-heavy Nasdaq index rose by 8 points or 0.04%.
Traders now see a 60% chance that the Federal Reserve will deliver another 0.5% rate cut at its next meeting in November, according to CME Group (NASDAQ:CME). Traditionally, the Fed has moved rates by only a quarter of a percentage point at a time.
- US Energy shares fell 1.9% on Wednesday with Chevron (NYSE:CVX) down 2.4% as crude oil prices slid.
- Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) slumped 5.5% after the drugmaker gave updates from its immunology and rare disease development pipeline that disappointed Wall Street.
- Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) dipped 0.4%. Sales of foreign branded smartphones, including iPhones, in China fell in August on an annual basis, data from a government affiliated research firm showed.
- Ford Motor (NYSE:F) lost 4.1% and General Motors (NYSE:GM) fell 4.9% after Morgan Stanley (NYSE:NYSE:MS) lowered its recommendations on the automakers.
- Citigroup, Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) and JPMorgan (NYSE:JPM) and Chase weighed on the broader KBW bank index, which was down 1%.
European markets
European sharemarkets ended slightly lower on Wednesday as energy stocks tracked lower crude oil prices.
- The continent-wide FTSEurofirst 300 index dipped 0.1%.
- In London, the UK FTSE 100 index slipped 0.2%.
Sweden's central bank cut its key interest rate to 3.25% from 3.50%, as expected, and said that if the inflation outlook remained favourable it could ease policy faster in the months ahead. The Swedish benchmark closed 0.7% higher.
Currencies
Currencies were weaker against the US dollar in European and US trade.
- The Euro fell from US$1.1212 to US$1.1121 and was near US$1.1130 at the US close.
- The Aussie dollar dipped from 68.85 US cents to 68.16 US cents and was near 68.20 US cents at the US close.
- The Japanese yen eased from 143.24 yen per US dollar to JPY144.85 and was near JPY144.80 at the US close.
Commodities
Global oil prices slumped over 2% on Wednesday as worries over supply disruptions in Libya eased and demand concerns continued despite China's latest stimulus plans. US crude inventories fell by 4.5 million barrels in the US to 413 million barrels last week, compared with analysts' expectations for a 1.4 million-barrel draw.
- The Brent crude price fell by US$1.71 or 2.3% to US$73.46 a barrel.
- The US Nymex crude price slipped US$1.87 or 2.6% to US$69.69 a barrel.
Base metal prices were mixed on Wednesday.
- Copper futures steadied after hitting a 10-week high as the US dollar rose.
- Aluminium futures slipped 1.3%.
The gold futures price rose US$7.70 or 0.3% to US$2,684.70 an ounce on Wednesday. Spot gold was trading near US$2,657 an ounce at the US close after hitting an all-time high of US$2,670.43 earlier on Fed rate cut bets.
Iron ore futures climbed US37 cents or 0.4% to US$92.25 a tonne on Wednesday, as a fresh batch of policy easing measures from China lifted market sentiment.
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