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Australian shares are set to tumble to an eight-week low.
The forecast comes as US stocks retreated overnight with the June 1 debt ceiling deadline drawing closer with a number of issues left unresolved.
The S&P and NASDAQ fell around 0.5 per cent. The New York Stock Exchange dropped nearly 1 per cent.
However, Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy assured: “things are better than they were yesterday”. Negotiations will continue today.
In currencies, the Australian dollar dropped to a six-month low. The Reserve Bank of New Zealand also surprised markets yesterday afternoon by indicating it’s likely done with rate hikes after reaching a 14-year high.
On the back of the news, one Aussie dollar is buying NZD$1.07, 53 British pence and 65 US cents.
And finally, in commodities, the surging greenback undermined dollar-denominated commodity prices. Iron ore fell nearly 3 per cent to US$103 per tonne. Gold also dropped nearly 1 per cent to US$1958.69 per ounce.
Copper prices fell below US$8000 per tonne – a six-month low, and a significant drop from its January price of US$9,500.
