Good morning, and welcome to the ABC’s finance blog. I’ll be here to guide you through the latest business and economic news — and there’s a lot happening!
For starters, the Australian share market (which climbed to its highest levels ever in yesterday’s session) is likely to post a new record high, when it starts trading in a few hours.
ASX futures are pointing to a 0.2% rise for local shares.
It comes after yesterday’s decision by the Reserve Bank to deliver its third rate cut for the year, taking the cash rate down to 3.6% (its lowest in more than two years).
Wages and corporate profits
Later this morning, the ABS will release its Wage Price Index for the June quarter. It will reveal how much of a pay rise Australian workers received on average (and is a useful gauge of business inflation).
In company news, several major companies will release their financial results today including AGL Energy, Commonwealth Bank, Treasury Wine Estates and Insurance Australia Group (IAG). We’ll let you know how they have fared as soon as their earnings are out!
US markets hit new records
Overseas, Wall Street also hit new records as US investors celebrated lower-than-expected inflation data — which has yet to show the impact of Donald Trump’s higher tariffs on consumer prices.
If you really want to know, America’s consumer price index went up 0.2% in July and 2.7% over the past year (compared to the 0.2% monthly and 2.8% annual gain that economists were expecting).
As a result, the odds of the US Federal Reserve cutting interest rates at its next board meeting surged above 90%, according to the latest market pricing.
The S&P 500 (+1.1%) and Nasdaq Composite (+1.4%) hit new records, while the Dow Jones (+1.1%) is close, but not quite there yet.
Meanwhile, grab a coffee (or tea), and stay tuned!