The Australian sharemarket is expected to open lower on Thursday after United States equities declined sharply as bond yields moved higher following the Federal Reserve’s latest interest rate decision.
S&P/ASX 200 futures were down 51 points, or 0.6%, to 8,945.
Overnight in the U.S., the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 2.2%, marking its biggest one-day decline since 21 April 2025. The S&P 500 dropped 1.5%, while the Nasdaq declined 1.7%.
Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh said the U.S. economy “is showing impressive resilience” and that while inflation remains elevated compared with the 2% target, policymakers were “resolute” in their effort to “deliver price stability”.
Fed policymakers voted 9-3 to keep interest rates unchanged.
“The Fed held pat, as expected. The bigger question now though becomes, how much pressure will they have to hike in September? Inflation is running hot and with surging crude oil, the market expects the next hike to indeed be in September,” Ryan Detrick, chief market strategist at Carson Group, was quoted as saying in a Reuters story.
The Australian sharemarket closed higher on Wednesday, climbing to its highest level since 26 March after softer-than-expected inflation data reduced expectations of an interest rate increase by the Reserve Bank of Australia next month.
The S&P/ASX 200 Index rose 90.8 points, or 1.0%, to 9,038.6, with all 11 sectors finishing higher.
Companies reporting on Thursday include Champion Iron, Mainfreight, Oceania Healthcare, PLS Group, Perseus Mining and Boss Energy.
June building approvals data is scheduled for release at 11:30 am AEST.
Later in the U.S. session, markets will receive June core PCE inflation figures and second-quarter GDP data.
On the bond markets, 10-year and 2-year Treasury yields fell 0.3% and 0.6%, respectively, to 4.969% and 4.538%.
