Australian shares are expected to be little changed when trading resumes on Wednesday with Wall Street providing little guidance.
The main United States stock market indices failed to set a clear direction although the S&P 500 closed at a new high on Tuesday (Wednesday AEDT).
The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished flat, the S&P 500 added 0.2% and the Nasdaq Composite gained just 0.1%.
The main Australian benchmark had finished 0.7% down at 8,481 points on Tuesday as seven of the 11 sectors ended lower, on a day when the Reserve Bank of Australia delivered a long awaited cut in official interest rates.
“A flat start today is expected after an anaemic night in the US although the S&P had a record closing high,” Chief CommSec Economist Ryan Felsman told Azzet.
He noted President Donald Trump’s decision to set auto tariffs at 25% could influence markets.
Felsman said the ASX direction could be set by corporate reporting with National Australia Bank announcing a trading update and, after Westpac’s weak result earlier this week, financial stocks could be under pressure.
But he expected higher prices from energy and gold stocks in the wake of higher oil and gold prices.
On the bond markets, Australian Treasury bond yields diverged with 10-year rates dipping 0.04% to 4.529% and two-year rates rising 0.01% to 3.933%.
