The Australian sharemarket is set to open roughly flat before the Australian government’s mid-year budget update today, following a mixed session on Wall Street overnight.
ASX futures were down 0.1% to 8,576 points. The ASX 200 closed 0.4% lower yesterday at 8,598.9.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers will deliver the Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook (MYEFO) today. The 2025-26 budget deficit will be A$36.8 billion, $5.4 billion lower than forecast during May’s election.
“By finding more savings, restraining spending and banking revenue, the budget is in much better nick than it was when we came to government, and it's even improved since the last election,” said Chalmers.
The government has also said MYEFO will include $20 billion in savings across the next four years. It will increase spending on natural disasters by $6.3 billion and on age pension costs by $3 billion.
On Wall Street, the S&P 500 dropped 0.2%, while the Dow Jones was down 0.6%. The Nasdaq Composite rose 0.2%, partly reversing recent declines driven by a slump in artificial intelligence stocks.
The United States’ unemployment rate reached a four-year high of 4.6% in November, per Bureau of Labor Statistics figures. Employers added 64,000 jobs that month, more than expected after a drop of 105,000 jobs in October.
Oil prices also fell to their lowest point since 2021 following two days of talks with U.S., Ukrainian, and other European officials in Berlin.
The U.S. has said it is nearing an agreement with Ukraine that could bring an end to Russia’s invasion, including NATO-style security guarantees, though Russia has not agreed to these terms.
On the bond markets, 10-year and 2-year rates ticked up 0.1% and 0.2% to 4.721% and 4.025%, respectively.
