Company profit results are expected to steer Australian share prices on Friday with the market expected to be flat initially following a mixed night on Wall Street.
At the time of writing , the S&P/ASX 200 September share price index (SPI) contract was trading just eight points higher than the previous settlement at 8,838 points, setting the scene for new highs to be reached for a second successive day if corporate results find favour.
Companies reporting today include Cochlear (ASX: COH) and Mirvac (ASX: MGR), while ANZ (ASX: ANZ) released its APS 330 Pillar 3 Disclosure.
Futures trading on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) was guided by stock indices in New York, where the S&P 500 edged up and the Dow Jones Industrial Average and Nasdaq Composite were unchanged.
Dampening the American investor mood were higher-than-expected United States producer prices (PPI), which indicated interest rate cuts may not be assured.
A Labor Department report showed producer prices increased the most in three years in July, but traders still expect a 25 basis point rate cut in September.
"The implication is that the Fed is going to offer a 25-(basis point) cut in September. But it will be a hawkish cut. It's way too early still for the Fed to wish to guide the market towards an extended easing cycle," Macquarie Group Global FX and Rates Strategist Thierry Wizman was quoted in a Reuters story as saying.
The Dow Jones finished just 0.02% lower, the S&P 500 added a mere 0.03% and the Nasdaq edged down by 0.01%.
Burrell Stockbroking wealth adviser Adam Dight said the U.S. market was proving resilient in the face of negative influences like economic data or announcements from President Donald Trump, which it saw as transitory rather than structural.
He said the reaction in the Australian market to corporate results demonstrated how stocks would trade in the months ahead, with poor performers immediately sold and buying support remaining for others.
“There's no coming back in the short term because everyone knows what the game is now,” Dight said.
He gave the Australian corporate reporting season a seven out of 10 rating, lagging the eight out of 10 for recent U.S. results.
The Australian sharemarket touched a new record closing high on Thursday, with the S&P/ASX 200 rising 0.53% as Westpac results lifted the financial sector.
In fixed interest markets, yields on Australian Government bonds fell, with 10-year rates down 0.07% to 4.237% and two-year rates off by 0.33% to 3.320%.
