The Australian sharemarket is expected to open flat after US stocks fluctuated as traders waded through the minutes of the Federal Reserve’s September meeting for clues on the outlook for interest rates ahead of a key inflation report. Oil fell after an early-week surge, and the Australian dollar softened.
Wall Street traders were digesting the minutes of the latest Fed meeting for clues where rates are heading.On Wall Street, the benchmark S&P 500 index edged up 0.1 per cent as of 6.16am AEDT. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was flat, and the Nasdaq 100 rose 0.5 per cent. Tech megacaps outperformed, while oil giant Exxon Mobil led losses in energy shares after agreeing to buy Pioneer Natural Resources for $US59.5 billion .
US policymakers agreed last month that policy should remain restrictive for “some time” to keep cooling down inflation — while noting risks had become more balanced, according to the latest Fed minutes. “ CPI could paint a different picture, but today’s PPI suggests we haven’t seen the end of sticky inflation — and high interest rates,” said Mike Loewengart, head of model portfolio construction at Morgan Stanley Global Investment Office. “Either way, investors will need to remain patient. Lowering inflation significantly from last year’s highs was one challenge, getting it down to the Fed’s 2 per cent target level is another.