logo-loader

Yesterday’s US rally seen petering out Thursday

Last updated: 21:32 17 Mar 2016 AEDT, First published: 17:32 17 Mar 2016 AEDT

new-york-668616_640

After the Fed's inaction yesterday on rates saw shares head north, US shares are seen likely opening lower on Thursday.

The US central bank chair Janet Yellen cited a weak global outlook and volatile equity markets as a reason keep rates on hold for this month.

It comes after  the first rise in a decade at the tail end of last year, as the shoots of economic growth and stability were witnessed in the US.

But mood and sentiment have changed since then.

Gold was a beneficiary of the Fed's cautious stance and futures rose yesterday with a spot price of the precious metal now up 3.05% at US$1,267 an ounce.

Meanwhile, on Wall Street the Dow finished 74 points to the good at  17,325, while the broader based S&P500 added around 11 at 1,971. The tech heavy Nasdaq added 35  to stand at 4,763.

Futures today show  the benchmark Dow trading 13 down, the S&P500 down around three and Nasdaq futures around nine points lower.

In company news, FedEx (NYSE:FDX) shares added almost 6% in after hours trade  after the shipping company issued a favorable outlook and said profit rose to $692mln compared to $586mln in the same period last year.

Coming up, Michaels Companies and Land's End will post quarterly earnings ahead of the open.

Australian Strategic Materials signs US$600 million LoI

Rowena Smith, CEO and managing director of Australian Strategic Materials Ltd (ASX:ASM, OTC:ASMMF), joins Jonathan Jackson in the Proactive studio to discuss the company’ s Dubbo Project, in Central West New South Wales. This project aims to extract and process critical minerals and rare earth...

4 hours, 49 minutes ago