The ASX is set to open higher, buoyed by gains on Wall Street after the U.S. Federal Reserve agreed to cut interest rates.
ASX futures were up 0.9% to 8,658.00. The ASX 200 closed at 8,579.40 yesterday, down 0.1%.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics’ labour force data will be released at 12:30 pm AEDT. Around 26,000 jobs were added in November, with wages up 3.2% annually, according to a separate report by Commonwealth Bank this week.
“While wages growth has still eased over the past year, the slight tick up in November is worth watching, especially when combined with recent higher-than-expected inflation prints and Q3 25 GDP data showing the Australian economy has reached its speed limit. If wages continue to strengthen, the risk of rate hikes in 2026 will rise,” said Commonwealth Bank’s head of Australian economics Belinda Allen.
In the U.S., the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 1% higher, the S&P 500 was up 0.7%, and the Nasdaq Composite was up 0.3%,
The Fed announced it would cut rates by 0.25% today, following cuts in September and October. Three policymakers on the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) voted against the 0.25% cut, the largest dissent since 2019.
Although U.S. economic data last week showed core inflation rising 2.8% annually in September, data releases were suspended during October and November’s government shutdown.
“Data was not collected in October and half of November, so we are going to get data, but we are going to have to look at it carefully and with a somewhat skeptical eye,” said Fed chair Jerome Powell.
The FOMC’s updated projections from policymakers indicated one additional rate cut is likely in 2026.
