Australian shares are expected to dip slightly today, with futures indicating a 0.1% fall to 8,268 points when trade starts this morning.
CPI data out soon
The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) is due to release the September quarter Consumer Price Index (CPI) data.
Economists are tipping that annual headline inflation will fall, but the underlying measures will stay above the RBA’s 2-3% target band.
US sharemarkets had a mixed performance yesterday as investors responded to corporate earnings reports and new economic data.
The Dow Jones fell by 154 points or 0.4%, the S&P 500 added 0.2% and the Nasdaq rose 0.8%.
Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) gained 1.8% ahead of its earnings release, lifting the communication services sector, which closed up 1.6%.
Cadence Design (NASDAQ:CDNS) Systems led individual stock gains, jumping 12.5% after positive third-quarter results, while VF Corp (NYSE:NYSE:VFC, ETR:VFP) surged 27% on its first reported profit in two quarters.
Meanwhile, Ford slid 8.4%, falling short of its annual profit forecast, and D.R. Horton lost 7.2% following a revenue outlook that missed expectations.
European markets down
In Europe, share markets slid in the wake of investor caution, with the FTSEurofirst 300 dropping 0.6%.
The travel and leisure sector led losses, falling by 1.5% as Lufthansa shares slumped 5.2% due to lower-than-expected third-quarter earnings.
The UK’s FTSE 100 index fell by 0.8% ahead of the government’s upcoming budget announcement.
In economic news, the US JOLTS report revealed job openings fell to a 3.5-year low of 7.44 million in September, missing expectations of 8 million.
The consumer confidence index rose to a nine-month high of 108.7, supported by a strong labour market. Housing data also showed growth, with both the Case-Shiller and FHFA indices indicating price increases in August.
US government bond yields dipped following the decline in job openings and robust demand for a $44 billion auction of seven-year notes, while the 10-year Treasury yield fell to 4.26%.
Currencies and commodities
The US dollar strengthened, pushing the Euro down to US$1.0815, the Aussie dollar to 65.55 US cents, and the yen to JPY153.40.
There was mixed activity on commodity markets.
Brent crude fell 0.4% to US$71.12 per barrel, while US Nymex crude eased to US$67.21, with potential Middle East de-escalations weighing on prices.
Gold rose 0.9% to US$2,781.10 an ounce, boosted by safe-haven demand, while iron ore futures edged lower, trading at US$104.09 per tonne.
Looking ahead, Australia will release the aforementioned CPI data, with annual general meetings scheduled for BHP (ASX:BHP) and Whitehaven Coal (ASX:WHC), among others.
In the US, the ADP (NASDAQ:ADP) employment report, pending home sales, and GDP growth data are anticipated. Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) and Meta Platforms are set to release their earnings reports.
Market outlook
- Australian dollar: -0.4% at 65.56 US cents.
- S&P 500: +0.2% to 5,832 points.
- Nasdaq: +0.8% to 18,713 points.
- FTSE: -0.8% to 8,220 points.
- EuroStoxx: -0.6% to 518 points.
- Spot gold: +1.2% to $US2,773/ounce.
- Brent crude: -0.1% to $US71.36/barrel.
- Iron ore: +0.7% to $US104.15/tonne.
- Bitcoin: +3.6% to $US72,143.