The Australian Stock Market Expected to Open Higher, New Zealand Stocks Predicted to Decline

Australian shares are set to open higher on Monday, with investors encouraged by easing inflation pressures in the United States and weaker oil prices. End Quote

(1888PressRelease) February 15, 2023 - According to local share price index futures, the S&P/ASX 200 index is expected to rise 0.2% at the market opening. It is a 43.8-point discount from its closing level when it rose 0.3%. The New Zealand benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index fell slightly by 0.02%, trading at 12,033.55 points in early trade.

The optimism among shareholders follows encouraging news out of the US as inflation figures have slowed down recently, signalling that the Federal Reserve will be able to engineer an economic soft landing for the country.

Oil prices have dropped significantly in the past week, which could dampen any market gains, with energy stocks due to take a hit from the decline. Despite this, investors appear optimistic about other sectors, particularly those likely to benefit from lower inflation, such as financials and consumer discretionary stocks.

Analysts expect a relatively quiet day of trading on Monday, with no significant news expected from Australia or New Zealand. All eyes will now be on when domestic employment figures come out, which could indicate how the Australian economy is performing.

Analysts also caution against too much optimism, as there may be further instability in the coming weeks if more data suggests that US inflation is slowing even more sharply than expected. They recommend keeping an eye on news from overseas markets for any signs of turbulence and maintaining a diversified portfolio across multiple sectors.

Current conditions suggest that Monday’s opening will be positive regardless of potential future volatility. Investors are sure to be keeping close tabs on how the market responds to the new data and any developments that could affect the markets in the coming days.

While hopes were high that the US central bank would slow on rate rises, comments from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell indicated otherwise.

“I wouldn’t see the committee cutting rates until we’re confident that inflation is moving down in a sustained way,” Powell noted in a press statement.

###

space

Other Related Press Releases