The ASX has opened 0.4% higher at 9,053 points, following gains on Wall Street after better-than-expected inflation data.
ASX futures were up 0.3% to 9,061 points. The S&P 500 gained by 0.8% on Friday to a fresh record after the Bureau of Labor Statistics said the United States Consumer Price Index was 0.3% last month.
The U.S.’ inflation data paves the way for a 0.25% rate cut at its next meeting on Wednesday (Thursday AEDT). “We expect a 25bp cut in the target range of the U.S. federal funds rate to 3.75–4.00% at the 28–29 October Federal Open Market Committee meeting,” wrote ANZ head of G3 Economics Brian Martin.
“We also expect an announcement on when quantitative tightening will end. Whilst retaining an easing bias, we expect Chair Powell will signal a cautious meeting-by-meeting approach to future rate cuts, to balance concerns about softness in hiring against elevated inflation and inflation uncertainty.”
Software company Nuix (ASX: NXL) shares had dropped by 14.4% at the time of writing, following the company's announcement that CEO Jonathan Rubinsztein will step down.
The ASX reported its second consecutive weekly gain last week, though it declined by 0.2% on Friday.
It will see quarterly updates from Woolworths and Coles this week, as well as miners IGO, Liontown Resources, and Mineral Resources.
Australia’s Consumer Price Index data for the September quarter will be released on Wednesday. This will be the final major economic data release before the Reserve Bank of Australia’s meeting on 3-4 November.
In the U.S., 170 of the S&P 500 companies will report this week, including Microsoft, Apple, Alphabet, Amazon, and Meta.
On the bond markets, 10-year and 2-year rates were up 0.3% apiece at 4.176% and 3.377%, respectively.
