(US) – ASX – As the United States stock market maintains its composure in the face of renewed focus on interest rate projections, the Australian share market gears up for a potentially lower opening.
ASX futures, indicating the anticipated performance of the Australian stock market, exhibited a decline of 21 points or 0.3%, settling at 7214 around 7 am AEST.
Looking at Wall Street’s performance:
- Dow Jones inched up by 0.02%
- S&P 500 rose by 0.07%
- Nasdaq remained relatively stable with a marginal increase of 0.01%
Notable movements in key stocks on Wall Street included:
- BHP recording a decrease of 0.3%
- Rio Tinto down by 0.9%
- Atlassian showing resilience with a 0.9% increase
- Tesla witnessing a decline of 3.3%
- Apple gaining 1.7%
- Amazon experiencing a slight setback with a 0.3% decrease
Meanwhile, the Australian dollar saw a modest uptick, while the Bloomberg dollar spot index exhibited a minor dip.
Turning attention to the cryptocurrency market:
- Bitcoin, as seen on bitstamp.net, exhibited a 1.2% increase, reaching $US26,785 at 7:15 am AEST, briefly surpassing the $US27,000 mark.
In the realm of government bonds, the yield on the US 10-year note observed a decrease of 3 basis points, settling at 4.30% at 4:59 pm in New York.
Market analysts largely anticipate the Federal Reserve to maintain its current interest rates between 5.25% and 5.5% during its forthcoming meeting on Wednesday (Thursday AEST).
According to the CME FedWatch Tool, there is approximately a 70% likelihood of another rate pause in November.
JPMorgan strategists noted a distinct contrast in central bank actions between European rate hikes and the expected Fed pause, aligning with earlier decisions by the Bank of Canada and the Reserve Bank of Australia. However, there is a shared sentiment among central banks toward a prolonged pause in interest rates.
Apple’s notable performance provided stability to the technology sector. Pre-orders for the new iPhone 15 have exceeded expectations, with analysts estimating around 85 million to 90 million units in initial sales.
This robust performance is attributed to attractive carrier promotions.
Arm Holdings, on the other hand, experienced a decline of up to 9.4%, briefly dipping below its IPO opening price of $US56.10. Analysts expressed caution about Arm’s growth prospects, particularly in the context of AI market expectations.
Instacart is preparing for its initial public offering, planning to offer shares at $US30 apiece or potentially higher.
