Australian share prices are set to shrug off yet more closing highs on Wall Street to open lower on Tuesday.
At the time of writing, the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 September share price index contract was trading 60 points or 0.7% below the previous settlement of 8606.00 points.
Two of the three major stock indices in the United States closed at new highs on Monday (Tuesday AEST) as investors assessed a trade pact with the European Union (E.U.) at the start of a busy week for U.S. news.
Although the Dow Jones Industrial Average eased back by just 0.1%, the S&P 500 eked out a 0.02% gain and the technology-laden Nasdaq Composite jumped 0.3%, both to new peaks.
U.S. President Donald Trump and E.U. President Ursula von der Leyen announced a trade framework which includes cutting European import tariffs to 15%, following U.S. trade agreements with countries such as Japan and Indonesia.
"It's feel-good in the sense that it doesn't represent Armageddon, if the draconian tariffs went into place," Certuity Chief Investment Officer Scott Welch was quoted in a Reuters story as saying.
"But it's much too soon to pass judgment on the long-term effects on how that will play out. It's better than the alternative for sure, and so I hope they continue."
This week the Federal Reserve holds a two-day policy meeting at which it is expected to leave its interest rates steady, jobs data for July will be published, a key trade deadline passes, and major technology companies announce their latest earnings.
The Australian Securities Exchange’s (ASX) major index had ended with a 0.4% gain on Monday with healthcare and communication companies up and energy and mining stocks down.
Corporate news scheduled for today includes quarterly updates from Liontown Resources (ASX: LTR), Ramelius Resources (ASX: RMS), Resolute Mining (ASX: RSG), Sandfire Resources (ASX: SFR), St Barbara (ASX: SBM) and Viva Energy Group (ASX: VEA), according to CommSec.
On the bond markets, the yield curve for Australian Government paper continued to steepen with 10-year rates rising 0.02% to 4.350% and two-year rates falling 0.38% to 3.399%.
