5m agoWed 17 Sep 2025 at 10:15pmMarket snapshotASX 200 futures: -0.1% to 8,794 pointsAustralian dollar: Flat at 66.51 US centsS&P 500: -0.1% to 6,600 pointsNasdaq: -0.3% to 22,261 pointsFTSE: +0.1% to 9,208 pointsEuroStoxx: -0.1% to 570 pointsSpot gold: -0.8% to $US3,659/ounceBrent crude: -0.8% to $US67.92/barrelIron ore: -0.3% to $US105.85/tonneBitcoin: +0.6% to $US116,291

Price current around 08:10am AEST

Live updates on the major ASX indices:

11m agoWed 17 Sep 2025 at 10:09pm

ICYMI: Alan Kohler’s Finance Report14m agoWed 17 Sep 2025 at 10:06pmUS Fed signals more cuts ahead

The Federal Reserve cut interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point on Wednesday and indicated it will steadily lower borrowing costs for the rest of this year, as policymakers responded to signs of weakness in the job market in a move that won broad internal support, including from most of President Donald Trump’s central bank appointees.

Only Stephen Miran, who was sworn in as a Fed governor on Tuesday and is on leave as the head of the White House’s Council of Economic Advisers, dissented in favor of a half-percentage-point reduction in borrowing costs.

The rate cut, along with projections showing that two more quarter-percentage-point reductions are anticipated at the remaining two policy meetings this year, indicates Fed officials have begun to downplay the risk that the administration’s trade policies will stoke persistent inflation, and are now more concerned about weakening growth and the likelihood of rising unemployment.

The cut, the first move by the policy-setting Federal Open Market Committee since December, lowered the policy rate to the 4.00%-4.25% range.

“In the near term, risks to inflation are tilted to the upside and risks to employment to the downside, a challenging situation” for monetary policymakers, Fed Chair Jerome Powell said in a press conference after the two-day meeting. “It’s really the risks that we’re seeing to the labor market that were the focus of today’s decision.”

Powell said he believes the recent pace of job creation is running below the break-even rate needed to hold the unemployment rate constant, and that with businesses doing very little hiring overall, any increase in layoffs could quickly feed into higher unemployment.

“The labor market is softening and we don’t need it to soften anymore,” he said.

New economic projections released by the Fed showed policymakers at the median still see inflation ending this year at 3%, well above the central bank’s 2% target, a projection unchanged from the last set of forecasts in June. The projection for unemployment was also unchanged at 4.5% and the one for economic growth slightly higher at 1.6% versus1.4%.

Rate futures markets saw more than a 90% probability of another rate cut at the Fed’s next meeting in late October.

with Reuters

29m agoWed 17 Sep 2025 at 9:51pmWall Street ends mixed after Fed’s rate cut

The Nasdaq and the S&P 500 closed lower in choppy trading on Wednesday.

The Dow closed higher after meandering during US Fed chair Jerome Powell’s speech.

The central bank indicated it will steadily cut rates for the rest of the year as policymakers signalled concerns about weakness in the labour market. The Fed projected two more quarter-percentage-point cuts this year.

In a press conference, Powell talked about the mounting downside risks of employment compared to inflation, but said inflation risks still must be assessed and managed.

This rate cut was already priced in by investors, according to data compiled by LSEG.

“Powell tempered some of the initial enthusiasm in the markets for a more aggressive path of monetary easing. He noted the softness in the labor market, but reserves a larger cut for more serious conditions that are not present today,” said Michael Rosen, chief investment officer at Angeles Investments.

“The Fed also raised its inflation forecast, highlighting the delicate balance between setting monetary policy to offset a weaker labour market versus bringing inflation lower,” he said.

Financial stocks like American Express helped boost the Dow.

The Fed’s decision and outlook will test Wall Street’s recent rally, which has been supported by rate-cut expectations and revived enthusiasm around AI-stock-linked trading.

with Reuters

42m agoWed 17 Sep 2025 at 9:38pmASX to fall

Good morning and welcome to Thursday’s markets live blog, where we’ll bring you the latest price action and news on the ASX and beyond.

A mixed session on Wall Street overnight sets the tone for local market action today.

The Dow Jones index gained 0.6 per cent, the S&P 500 lost 0.1 per cent and the Nasdaq Composite down 0.3 per cent.

ASX futures were down 13 points or 0.1 per cent to 8,794 at 7:30am AEST.

At the same time, the Australian dollar was flat at 66.52 US cents.

Brent crude oil was down 0.8 per cent, trading at $US67.91 a barrel.

Spot gold dropped 0.8 per cent to $US3659.28.

Iron ore down 0.3% to $US105.85 a tonne.