ASX set to fall as Wall Street dips; Fed keeps rates on hold, says future is ‘foggy'
US stocks drifted to a mixed finish after the Federal Reserve indicated it may cut interest rates twice this year, though it's far from certain about that.
The S&P 500 finished nearly unchanged and edged down by less than 0.1 per cent after flipping between modest gains and losses several times. The Dow Jones dipped 44 points, or 0.1 per cent, and the Nasdaq composite rose 0.1 per cent.
The Australian sharemarket is set to retreat, with futures at 6.37am AEST pointing to a loss of 28 points or 0.3 per cent, at the open. The ASX lost 0.1 per cent on Wednesday. The Australian is stronger. It was 0.5 per cent higher to 65.09 US cents at 6.50am AEST. Unemployment figures will be released at 11.30am AEST.
Treasury yields also wavered but ultimately held relatively steady after the Fed released a set of projections showing the median official expects to cut the federal funds rate twice by the end of 2025. That's the same number they were projecting three months ago, and it helped calm worries a bit that inflation caused by President Donald Trump's tariffs could tie the Fed's hands.
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Cuts in rates would make mortgages, credit-card payments and other loans cheaper for US households and businesses, which in turn could strengthen the overall economy. But they could likewise fan inflation higher.
So far, inflation has remained relatively tame, and it's near the Fed's target of 2 per cent. But economists have been warning it may take months to feel the effects of tariffs. And inflation has been feeling upward pressure recently from a spurt in oil prices because of Israel's fighting with Iran.
Fed Chair Jerome Powell stressed on Wednesday that all the uncertainty surrounding tariffs means the median forecast for two cuts to interest rates this year could end up being far from reality. 'Right now it's just a forecast in a very foggy time,' he said
Fed officials are waiting to see how big Trump's tariffs will ultimately be, what they will affect and whether they will drive a one-time increase to inflation or something more dangerous. There is also still deep uncertainty about how much tariffs will grind down on the economy's growth.
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West Australian
an hour ago
- West Australian
Former Royal Australian Navy submariners take the plunge with local craft beer brand Deep Elite Brewing
After working underwater for more than a decade in submarines as part of the Royal Australian Navy, Brydon Maslin and Ryan Wilson are now the crew behind local craft beer brand, Deep Elite Brewing. By coincidence, the Adelaide-born brewers both joined the navy on March 10, 2008 but didn't cross paths until they joined the submarine force in Perth. They worked as marine technicians with the Australian fleet around the world, before settling in WA. Both dabbled in home brewing, before deciding to make beer together and joining local ale enthusiasts club West Coast Brewers. The duo started with basic plastic fermenters before transitioning to a stainless steel brewkit. Not one to do things by half, Mr Maslin soon had 14 taps of beer in his back shed so he could host parties, such as birthdays and Oktoberfest celebrations. They even handed out feedback forms so their mates could share their thoughts on the amateur brews. Mr Maslin jokes that the forms equated to research and development, making those early beers tax deductable. Deep Elite's campaign took what Mr Wilson calls a significant turn when they bought a single canning machine and hand-labeller to make beers for friends and family. 'Their encouragement led us to explore the idea of starting our own brewery,' he said. 'Deep Elite Brewing was born, inspired by our submarine background.' The former submariners secured a wholesale license to brew commercially and began contract brewing at Heroes and Villains, Bright Tank, Limestone Coast and Spinifex Brewery, where Mr Maslin is head brewer and Mr Wilson works on the production line. Their first official release as Deep Elite was a cherry sour, brewed at 3 Rivers Brewery in Mandurah and inspired by Mr Maslin's wife's German heritage. The 38-year-old confessed that he didn't drink beer until he travelled to the Black Forest and one of her relatives told him he'd better learn to love the national beverage. Today, Deep Elite is owned by Maslin and Wilson alongside Lee Tough and non-executive director Alan Donovan. Most investors in the brewery are former submariners, who also turn up to help on canning days when it's all hands on deck. Mr Maslin said their navy background has also helped them launch the nascent brand, as they often supply beers to veterans events. Often featuring seafaring puns and references, Deep Elite beers can be found in around 40 shops and a handful of pubs. Their Xtra Sticky Boy Hazy IPA featuring Pirates of the Caribbean-inspired can art earned high praise at the recent Beer and BBQ Festival in Adelaide. A Deep Elite venue is on the distant horizon, explained Mr Maslin, who is more focused on making the next beer — The Hunt for Red Hoptober, a tribute to the 1990 spy thriller starring Sean Connery and Alec Baldwin.
Perth Now
an hour ago
- Perth Now
Submariners take the plunge with new local craft beer brand
After working underwater for more than a decade in submarines as part of the Royal Australian Navy, Brydon Maslin and Ryan Wilson are now the crew behind local craft beer brand, Deep Elite Brewing. By coincidence, the Adelaide-born brewers both joined the navy on March 10, 2008 but didn't cross paths until they joined the submarine force in Perth. They worked as marine technicians with the Australian fleet around the world, before settling in WA. Both dabbled in home brewing, before deciding to make beer together and joining local ale enthusiasts club West Coast Brewers. The duo started with basic plastic fermenters before transitioning to a stainless steel brewkit. Not one to do things by half, Mr Maslin soon had 14 taps of beer in his back shed so he could host parties, such as birthdays and Oktoberfest celebrations. Former Royal Australian Navy submariners Brydon Maslin and Ryan Wilson brew Deep Elite beers at Spinifix Brewing in Stake Hill. Credit: Kelsey Reid / The West Australian They even handed out feedback forms so their mates could share their thoughts on the amateur brews. Mr Maslin jokes that the forms equated to research and development, making those early beers tax deductable. Deep Elite's campaign took what Mr Wilson calls a significant turn when they bought a single canning machine and hand-labeller to make beers for friends and family. 'Their encouragement led us to explore the idea of starting our own brewery,' he said. 'Deep Elite Brewing was born, inspired by our submarine background.' The former submariners secured a wholesale license to brew commercially and began contract brewing at Heroes and Villains, Bright Tank, Limestone Coast and Spinifex Brewery, where Mr Maslin is head brewer and Mr Wilson works on the production line. Deep Elite Brewing has collaborated on beers with Wedgetail Brewing, Hogg Culture, Spinifex and other local breweries gaining friends and experience along the way. Credit: Kelsey Reid / The West Australian Their first official release as Deep Elite was a cherry sour, brewed at 3 Rivers Brewery in Mandurah and inspired by Mr Maslin's wife's German heritage. The 38-year-old confessed that he didn't drink beer until he travelled to the Black Forest and one of her relatives told him he'd better learn to love the national beverage. Today, Deep Elite is owned by Maslin and Wilson alongside Lee Tough and non-executive director Alan Donovan. Most investors in the brewery are former submariners, who also turn up to help on canning days when it's all hands on deck. Deep Elite's Brydon Maslin and Ryan Wilson earned praise at the Adelaide Beer and BBQ Festival for their triple dry-hopped Xtra Sticky Boy Hazy IPA. Credit: Kelsey Reid / The West Australian Mr Maslin said their navy background has also helped them launch the nascent brand, as they often supply beers to veterans events. Often featuring seafaring puns and references, Deep Elite beers can be found in around 40 shops and a handful of pubs. Their Xtra Sticky Boy Hazy IPA featuring Pirates of the Caribbean-inspired can art earned high praise at the recent Beer and BBQ Festival in Adelaide. A Deep Elite venue is on the distant horizon, explained Mr Maslin, who is more focused on making the next beer — The Hunt for Red Hoptober, a tribute to the 1990 spy thriller starring Sean Connery and Alec Baldwin.
The Advertiser
2 hours ago
- The Advertiser
Wall St edges up,Trump's Mideast decision in focus
Wall Street's main indexes have nudged higher, tracking strength in global stocks after President Donald Trump held off from making an immediate decision on US involvement in the Israel-Iran war. Trump will take a call in the next two weeks, the White House said on Thursday, as hostilities between the two Middle Eastern countries approached their second week. Markets have been on edge as Trump has kept the world guessing on his plans - veering from proposing a swift diplomatic solution to suggesting the US might join the fight as Israel aims to suppress Tehran's ability to build nuclear weapons. A senior Iranian official told Reuters Tehran was ready to discuss limitations on its uranium enrichment, but zero enrichment will be rejected "especially now under Israel's strikes". Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi has arrived in Geneva to meet European counterparts, who are hoping to establish a path back to diplomacy. "Any news flow that's going to lean in the direction of de-escalation is going to be a market positive and we're seeing that to a certain extent here," said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at B. Riley Wealth. Concerns about price pressures in the US were also in focus after Federal Reserve policymakers on Wednesday warned inflation could pick up pace over the summer as the economic effects of Trump's steep import tariffs kick in. They kept interest rates unchanged. On Friday, Fed governor Chris Waller said the central bank should consider cutting interest rates at its next meeting given recent tame inflation data and because any price shock from tariffs will be short-lived. In early trading on Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 123.38 points, or 0.29 per cent, to 42,295.04, the S&P 500 gained 13.34 points, or 0.22 per cent, to 5,994.21 and the Nasdaq Composite gained 38.74 points, or 0.20 per cent, to 19,585.01. Nine of the 11 major S&P 500 sub-sectors rose. Real estate led sector gains with a 0.7 per cent rise. On the flip side, healthcare stocks lost 0.5 per cent. All three main indexes are set for weekly gains. Investors are also bracing for any potential spike in volatility from Friday's "triple witching" - the simultaneous expiration of single stock options, stock index futures, and stock index options contracts that happens once a quarter. Among megacap stocks, Apple advanced 1.3 per cent. Kroger rose 6.4 per cent after the grocery chain increased its annual identical sales forecast. Mondelez International gained 2.4 per cent after brokerage Wells Fargo upgraded the Cadbury parent to "overweight" from "equal-weight". Accenture fell 7.2 per cent after the IT services provider said new bookings decreased in the third quarter. Wall Street's strong gains last month, primarily driven by a softening in Trump's trade stance and strength in corporate earnings, had pushed the benchmark S&P 500 index close to its record peaks before the ongoing conflict in the Middle East made investors risk-averse. The S&P 500 index now remains 2.4 per cent below its record level, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq is 2.8 per cent lower. Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 2.16-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and by a 1.45-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq. The S&P 500 posted 12 new 52-week highs and 2 new lows while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 55 new highs and 31 new lows. Wall Street's main indexes have nudged higher, tracking strength in global stocks after President Donald Trump held off from making an immediate decision on US involvement in the Israel-Iran war. Trump will take a call in the next two weeks, the White House said on Thursday, as hostilities between the two Middle Eastern countries approached their second week. Markets have been on edge as Trump has kept the world guessing on his plans - veering from proposing a swift diplomatic solution to suggesting the US might join the fight as Israel aims to suppress Tehran's ability to build nuclear weapons. A senior Iranian official told Reuters Tehran was ready to discuss limitations on its uranium enrichment, but zero enrichment will be rejected "especially now under Israel's strikes". Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi has arrived in Geneva to meet European counterparts, who are hoping to establish a path back to diplomacy. "Any news flow that's going to lean in the direction of de-escalation is going to be a market positive and we're seeing that to a certain extent here," said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at B. Riley Wealth. Concerns about price pressures in the US were also in focus after Federal Reserve policymakers on Wednesday warned inflation could pick up pace over the summer as the economic effects of Trump's steep import tariffs kick in. They kept interest rates unchanged. On Friday, Fed governor Chris Waller said the central bank should consider cutting interest rates at its next meeting given recent tame inflation data and because any price shock from tariffs will be short-lived. In early trading on Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 123.38 points, or 0.29 per cent, to 42,295.04, the S&P 500 gained 13.34 points, or 0.22 per cent, to 5,994.21 and the Nasdaq Composite gained 38.74 points, or 0.20 per cent, to 19,585.01. Nine of the 11 major S&P 500 sub-sectors rose. Real estate led sector gains with a 0.7 per cent rise. On the flip side, healthcare stocks lost 0.5 per cent. All three main indexes are set for weekly gains. Investors are also bracing for any potential spike in volatility from Friday's "triple witching" - the simultaneous expiration of single stock options, stock index futures, and stock index options contracts that happens once a quarter. Among megacap stocks, Apple advanced 1.3 per cent. Kroger rose 6.4 per cent after the grocery chain increased its annual identical sales forecast. Mondelez International gained 2.4 per cent after brokerage Wells Fargo upgraded the Cadbury parent to "overweight" from "equal-weight". Accenture fell 7.2 per cent after the IT services provider said new bookings decreased in the third quarter. Wall Street's strong gains last month, primarily driven by a softening in Trump's trade stance and strength in corporate earnings, had pushed the benchmark S&P 500 index close to its record peaks before the ongoing conflict in the Middle East made investors risk-averse. The S&P 500 index now remains 2.4 per cent below its record level, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq is 2.8 per cent lower. Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 2.16-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and by a 1.45-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq. The S&P 500 posted 12 new 52-week highs and 2 new lows while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 55 new highs and 31 new lows. Wall Street's main indexes have nudged higher, tracking strength in global stocks after President Donald Trump held off from making an immediate decision on US involvement in the Israel-Iran war. Trump will take a call in the next two weeks, the White House said on Thursday, as hostilities between the two Middle Eastern countries approached their second week. Markets have been on edge as Trump has kept the world guessing on his plans - veering from proposing a swift diplomatic solution to suggesting the US might join the fight as Israel aims to suppress Tehran's ability to build nuclear weapons. A senior Iranian official told Reuters Tehran was ready to discuss limitations on its uranium enrichment, but zero enrichment will be rejected "especially now under Israel's strikes". Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi has arrived in Geneva to meet European counterparts, who are hoping to establish a path back to diplomacy. "Any news flow that's going to lean in the direction of de-escalation is going to be a market positive and we're seeing that to a certain extent here," said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at B. Riley Wealth. Concerns about price pressures in the US were also in focus after Federal Reserve policymakers on Wednesday warned inflation could pick up pace over the summer as the economic effects of Trump's steep import tariffs kick in. They kept interest rates unchanged. On Friday, Fed governor Chris Waller said the central bank should consider cutting interest rates at its next meeting given recent tame inflation data and because any price shock from tariffs will be short-lived. In early trading on Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 123.38 points, or 0.29 per cent, to 42,295.04, the S&P 500 gained 13.34 points, or 0.22 per cent, to 5,994.21 and the Nasdaq Composite gained 38.74 points, or 0.20 per cent, to 19,585.01. Nine of the 11 major S&P 500 sub-sectors rose. Real estate led sector gains with a 0.7 per cent rise. On the flip side, healthcare stocks lost 0.5 per cent. All three main indexes are set for weekly gains. Investors are also bracing for any potential spike in volatility from Friday's "triple witching" - the simultaneous expiration of single stock options, stock index futures, and stock index options contracts that happens once a quarter. Among megacap stocks, Apple advanced 1.3 per cent. Kroger rose 6.4 per cent after the grocery chain increased its annual identical sales forecast. Mondelez International gained 2.4 per cent after brokerage Wells Fargo upgraded the Cadbury parent to "overweight" from "equal-weight". Accenture fell 7.2 per cent after the IT services provider said new bookings decreased in the third quarter. Wall Street's strong gains last month, primarily driven by a softening in Trump's trade stance and strength in corporate earnings, had pushed the benchmark S&P 500 index close to its record peaks before the ongoing conflict in the Middle East made investors risk-averse. The S&P 500 index now remains 2.4 per cent below its record level, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq is 2.8 per cent lower. Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 2.16-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and by a 1.45-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq. The S&P 500 posted 12 new 52-week highs and 2 new lows while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 55 new highs and 31 new lows. Wall Street's main indexes have nudged higher, tracking strength in global stocks after President Donald Trump held off from making an immediate decision on US involvement in the Israel-Iran war. Trump will take a call in the next two weeks, the White House said on Thursday, as hostilities between the two Middle Eastern countries approached their second week. Markets have been on edge as Trump has kept the world guessing on his plans - veering from proposing a swift diplomatic solution to suggesting the US might join the fight as Israel aims to suppress Tehran's ability to build nuclear weapons. A senior Iranian official told Reuters Tehran was ready to discuss limitations on its uranium enrichment, but zero enrichment will be rejected "especially now under Israel's strikes". Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi has arrived in Geneva to meet European counterparts, who are hoping to establish a path back to diplomacy. "Any news flow that's going to lean in the direction of de-escalation is going to be a market positive and we're seeing that to a certain extent here," said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at B. Riley Wealth. Concerns about price pressures in the US were also in focus after Federal Reserve policymakers on Wednesday warned inflation could pick up pace over the summer as the economic effects of Trump's steep import tariffs kick in. They kept interest rates unchanged. On Friday, Fed governor Chris Waller said the central bank should consider cutting interest rates at its next meeting given recent tame inflation data and because any price shock from tariffs will be short-lived. In early trading on Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 123.38 points, or 0.29 per cent, to 42,295.04, the S&P 500 gained 13.34 points, or 0.22 per cent, to 5,994.21 and the Nasdaq Composite gained 38.74 points, or 0.20 per cent, to 19,585.01. Nine of the 11 major S&P 500 sub-sectors rose. Real estate led sector gains with a 0.7 per cent rise. On the flip side, healthcare stocks lost 0.5 per cent. All three main indexes are set for weekly gains. Investors are also bracing for any potential spike in volatility from Friday's "triple witching" - the simultaneous expiration of single stock options, stock index futures, and stock index options contracts that happens once a quarter. Among megacap stocks, Apple advanced 1.3 per cent. Kroger rose 6.4 per cent after the grocery chain increased its annual identical sales forecast. Mondelez International gained 2.4 per cent after brokerage Wells Fargo upgraded the Cadbury parent to "overweight" from "equal-weight". Accenture fell 7.2 per cent after the IT services provider said new bookings decreased in the third quarter. Wall Street's strong gains last month, primarily driven by a softening in Trump's trade stance and strength in corporate earnings, had pushed the benchmark S&P 500 index close to its record peaks before the ongoing conflict in the Middle East made investors risk-averse. The S&P 500 index now remains 2.4 per cent below its record level, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq is 2.8 per cent lower. Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 2.16-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and by a 1.45-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq. The S&P 500 posted 12 new 52-week highs and 2 new lows while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 55 new highs and 31 new lows.
