The ASX200 is set to rise just under half a percent, bolstered by surges on Wall Street, as US stocks responded warmly to the Federal Reserve’s decision to cut rates by 50 basis points.
US stocks spiked upwards on Thursday, as investors appeared to interpret the Fed cut as ushering in a ‘soft landing’ for the country’s economy. The Dow Jones jumped over 500 points, bringing it to the 42,000 level for the first time. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 rose 1.7% – hitting new record highs, and the Nasdaq 100 increased 2.7%.
Investor confidence was mainly evident among tech stocks, with Nvidia and AMD rising 5% and 7%, while Meta and Alphabet increased 4% and 2%. Also strong were sectors tied to economic growth – such as financials and industrials.
In forex, the Aussie is buying just over 68 US cents.
Looking at commodities which are priced in US dollars, Iron Ore is fetching $91.57 per tonne, Brent Crude was just over US$74.86 per barrel, Gold is at US$2,587 an ounce, and US natgas at US$2.34 per gigajoule.