PERTH: The Australian sharemarket is substantially weaker at noon as investors weigh imminent interest rates decisions out of the US and the Reserve Bank of Australia.
At 12.05pm (AEST), the benchmark S & P/ASX200 index was down 47 points, or 0.89 per cent, to 5216.6, while the broader All Ordinaries lost 41.8 points, or 0.79 per cent, to 5232.9.
US Federal Reserve vice-chair Stanley Fischer said on the weekend the central bank would likely raise rates before inflation hits its 2 per cent target.
Meanwhile, investors have one eye on tomorrow’s RBA board meeting, with inflation and GDP growth data both reading weak.
TD Securities-Melbourne Institute figures released today showed the annual rate of inflation was 1.7 per cent in August, and has stayed below two per cent all year.
Meanwhile, analysts are forecasting economic growth to have slowed to 0.5 per cent in the June quarter, with an annual rate of 2.2 per cent. The official figures are released on Wednesday.
Rivkin Securities chief executive Scott Schuberg said Australian investors would again be sensitive to moves out of China.
“(T) he real niggler for the market — is the Chinese economy in more trouble than we think — remains alive and well and was reportedly hotly-debated at the US Federal Reserve’s Jackson Hole policy summit over the weekend,” he said.
Oil prices tallied their best two-day rally since 2009 on Friday night as US Nymex crude soared 6.3 per cent to $US45.22 and global benchmark Brent crude bounded 5.2 per cent to $US50.05.
Iron ore followed suit in recovering recent losses, leaping 4.1 per cent to $US55.50 a tonne as Chinese fears faded, supporting mining stocks at noon.
