Australian shares are expected to slip at Wednesday's open as investors await the US Federal Reserve’s policy decision early Thursday (AEST).
US indices were largely unchanged, with the S&P 500 reaching a new intraday record high of 5670.81. The Dow ended 0.04% lower, the S&P gained 0.03%, and the Nasdaq rose 0.2%.
ASX 200 futures are down by 51 points, or 0.6%, around 7 am AEST (9 pm GMT). The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 had closed at a new all-time high of 8140.9 on Tuesday.
The Australian dollar was trading at US67.57¢, recovering from last week’s low of US66.20¢.
Australian government bond yields mirrored the upward movement of US Treasuries, with 10-year and 2-year yields at 3.854% and 3.538%, respectively.
The probability of a 50 basis point cut was at 63%, according to the CME FedWatch futures monitor in Chicago.
However, the case for a 50-point reduction was weakened by US retail sales data for August, which showed an unexpected increase of 0.1% versus the predicted 0.2% decline.
This data supports the view that the US economy is not currently in a recession and that one is not imminent.
Among local companies, A2 Milk and Patriot Battery Metals are hosting investor meetings, while shares of Flight Centre, Auckland International Airport, and Service Stream are set to trade ex-dividend.
