ASX to slip, Fonterra sells consumer unit for $3.5b

Australian shares are set to open modestly lower, pulling back from the record high set on Thursday. All three main US benchmarks were lower, with consumer staples pacing the S&P 500’s losses.

Walmart fell 4.5 per cent after it missed quarterly profit estimates and flagged higher costs from tariffs.

Still, it was concern that Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell will temper hopes for a mid-September rate cut that weighed on sentiment. The probability of a quarter point cut next month fell to 73.5 per cent, according to the CME’s FedWatch Tool. It was 82.4 per cent the previous day and it was 92.1 per cent a week ago.

Source: https://www.afr.com/markets/equity-markets/asx-to-slip-walmart-slumps-powell-awaited-20250822-p5mow6