Pre-Market Report – Thursday 19 June: US markets ease | Fed on hold

Market Updates

Wall Street oversaw a mixed, flat and choppy session as the Fed kept rates the same, as expected. Markets still expect two rate cuts this year but now only expect one in 2026 and a further cut in 2027 after Powell made clear the importance of waiting and seeing the effects of tariffs on inflation. S&P 500 flat, Nasdaq up 0.13%. Dow rose at open, fell a little throughout the day, and dropped after Powell’s comments. Ended near low, down 44 points. Mixed sector performance. Financials best performer, Wells Fargo leading the charge with a gain of 3.1% without major news. Utilities and REITS also up despite yields remaining rather unchanged, while defensives such as Staples got a minor boost from stable yields.

Energy worst performer, shedding some of its gains from the last three sessions. Materials, Industrials, Tech all gave up 0.3%, but no major movements. No significant company news. Microsoft (+0.5%) is prepared to abandon its negotiations with OpenAI as tensions rise between the two companies. Yesterday, we noted OpenAI was considering accusing Microsoft of monopolistic practices within their agreement. Intel (+3.3%) appointed three chip industry executives to its engineering and networking department.

Resources mixed. Oil steady after recent double digit jumps following Israel-Iran conflict. Copper and iron ore down while nickel, zinc and lead all found strength.

ASX to fall. SPI futures down 31 points (-0.36%).

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