ASX 200 to rise; RBA policy statement in focus

Australian shares are expected to open higher on last day of the week ahead of the release of Reserve Bank of Australia’s (RBA) latest monetary policy statement at 11:30 AM (AEST). The domestic market is set to finish the week slightly higher despite mixed overnight closing on Wall Street.

On the other hand, domestic technology stocks are likely to follow their foreign peers’ rise while mining shares may weigh the benchmark on softer commodity prices.

The latest SPI futures indicate that the ASX 200 may open 10 points or 0.15% higher on Friday. The benchmark index dropped 1 point to 6,974.9 points on Thursday.

Global equities

In the US, the Dow Jones fell 0.26%, the S&P 500 dropped 0.078%, and the NASDAQ ended 0.41% higher. The monthly US non-farm payrolls data is awaited on Friday for clues on whether the tight labor market will continue to boost wages.

In Europe, the Stoxx 50 rose 0.6%, the FTSE surged 0.03%, the CAC gained 0.6%, and the DAX ended 0.6% higher.

Meanwhile, the Bank of England announced a massive half-point rise in interest rates.

Bond yields

The two-year Treasury yield fell to 3.0366%, while the 10-year yield dropped to 2.6846%.

Oil prices fall

Oil prices on Thursday fell to multi-month lows on concerns of a slowdown in demand after an increase in US crude and gasoline inventories.

• Brent crude futures finished down at US$94.12.
• WTI crude futures closed down to US$88.54.

Gold prices rebound

Gold prices rebounded on Thursday underpinned by a retreat in the US dollar and Treasury yields, as investors closely tracked US-China tensions.

• Spot gold rose 1.5% to a one-month high of US$1,794.79 an ounce.

Meanwhile, bitcoin eased 1.3% to US$22,536.