The Australian sharemarket is poised for a robust opening, following a positive day on Wall Street.
ASX futures lifted 1.2%, or 85 points, reaching 6,992 early this morning. US equities rebounded after the Federal Reserve hinted at a potential end to its monetary tightening.
Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM)'s shares soared by 5.8% after the chip designer projected first-quarter sales and profits exceeding Wall Street estimates. However, Moderna's shares declined by 6.5% after lowering its 2023 COVID-19 vaccine sales forecast.
US jobless claims increased by 5,000 to 217,000 in the past week. Factory orders rose by 2.8% in September. Investors now await the release of the US non-farm payrolls report.
US and UK rate relief won't be felt here
The Bank of England maintained its main interest rate at a 15-year high of 5.25%, with inflation in the UK anticipated to decrease in the coming months.
The bank's Monetary Policy Committee forecast a substantial cooling in the economy, as measured by the consumer price index, which is expected to approach the 2% target rate within the next year. Inflation has stood at 6.7% in the year to September.
In sharp contrast to its counterparts in the US and the UK, the Reserve Bank of Australia's meeting next Tuesday is widely predicted to result in a 0.25% interest rate hike.
Former treasurer Joe Hockey was a dissenting voice, telling Sky News that further rises will have a negative impact on household budgets, the economy and employment rates.
Market movements
We saw the following movements overnight:
- ASX 200: +2.1% to 6,989 points
- Australian dollar: +0.5% to 64.23 US cents
- Dow Jones: +1.7% to 33,839 points
- S&P 500: +1.9% to 4,318 points
- Nasdaq: +1.8% to 13,294 points
- FTSE: +1.4% to 7,447 points
- EuroStoxx: +1.6% to 443 points
- Spot gold: +0.3% to $US1,993/ounce
- Brent crude: +2.6% to $US86.81/barrel
- Iron ore: +2.6 to $US120.90/tonne
- Bitcoin: +0.8% to $US34,873
- US 10-year bond: 7bps to 4.66%
Currencies and commodities
Currency markets saw mixed movements against the US dollar.
Global oil prices rose, with Brent crude up 2.6% to $US86.85 a barrel, amid expectations that Saudi Arabia would confirm an extension of its voluntary oil-output cut.
Base metal prices exhibited mixed trends, with some metals falling by up to 1%, while others rose by up to 0.9%. Gold futures prices rose by 0.3% to $US1,993.50 an ounce.
What’s happening in small caps?
The S&P/ASX Small Ordinaries closed at 2,624.68 yesterday, adding 1.58% on the previous day.
Making news this morning, which you can read more about throughout the day with Proactive are: