The Australian sharemarket is set to open lower as iron ore extended its decline and the Federal Reserve kept interest rates on hold as expected.
Futures for the ASX 200 were down 0.2 per cent at the close of Wall Street despite a mixed session in the US trading as investors mostly sat on the sidelines. The S&P 500 finish little changed while the Nasdaq edged 0.1 per cent.
Iron ore continues its slide with futures in Singapore down 0.2 per cent to $US92.60 a tonne. Oil prices swung through the US session after topping $US74 a barrel.
US Fed officials kept the cash rate on amid the uncertainty surrounding the impact of the tariffs and economic outlook. Despite warning that inflation was worsening, the central bank said it still expected to make two interest rate cuts by the end of the year.
“We’re close to the all-time highs with a tremendous amount of event risk over the US summer,” said Sameer Samana, head of global equities and real assets at Wells Fargo Investment Institute, referring to the US sharemarket. “For most investors, now would be a good time to rebalance and get ready for additional event-related volatility.”
Source: https://www.afr.com/markets/equity-markets/asx-to-open-lower-wall-st-rises-ahead-of-fed-decision-20250618-p5m8li