Australian share prices are set to open slightly lower on Thursday following a mixed night on Wall Street after United States interest rates were kept unchanged.
The ASX 200 index is likely to begin just 0.04% below the prior finishing level when trading resumes on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) at 10 am AEDT (11 pm GMT Wednesday).
This is the indication from ASX futures trading, which priced the March contract of the ASX 200 index just four points under the prior settlement at 8,893 points at the time of writing.
The Nasdaq Composite Index rose slightly while the S&P 500 ended little changed on Wednesday (Thursday AEDT) after the Federal Reserve kept interest rates unchanged, as expected.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average edged up 0.02%, the S&P 500 finished flat, while the Nasdaq Composite added just 0.2%.
“I think, and many of my colleagues think, it’s hard to look at the incoming data and say the policy is significantly restrictive at this time,” said Fed Chair Jerome Powell during his press conference.
Fed Chair Jerome Powell gave little hint at a press conference about the likely future direction of U.S. rates.
"Whether you were bullish or bearish going into the press conference you walked away feeling about the same," Rosenblatt Securities Equity Sales Trader Michael James was quoted in a Reuters story as saying.
The Australian sharemarket had ended a little weaker on Wednesday after stronger-than-expected inflation data lifted expectations that the Reserve Bank of Australia will raise interest rates next month, with the S&P/ASX 200 falling just 0.1% to 8,933.9 points.
Stocks to watch today include Iluka Resources (ASX: ILU), which has announced its full-year results will be marred by charges related to exceptional items.
In fixed interest markets, Australian Government bond yields were unchanged, with two-year rates sitting at 4.229% and 10 year rates at 4.866%.
