ASX today, ASX futures up 0.2%, Fed holds rates

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Samso Market Update | Thursday, 29 October 2026 | Pre-market 9:45am AEDT

On the ASX today, S&P/ASX 200 futures were up 0.2%, or 22 points, at 8,882 at around 7:15am AEDT, the ABC reported. Futures are contracts that settle against the index on a set later date. They trade overnight and at a slightly different level from the index, so their move gives an early read on the open. The Australian dollar was buying 70.58 US cents at 7:45am AEDT (Yahoo Finance data). Overnight, the US Federal Reserve held the target range for the federal funds rate at 3.75% to 4.00%, in a 10 to 2 vote.

The S&P/ASX 200 closed on Wednesday at 8,847.3, down 2.8 points or 0.03%. The All Ordinaries, which tracks the 500 largest listed companies, rose 0.03% to 8,971.4. The S&P/ASX Small Ordinaries, an index of the companies ranked 101 to 300 by size, rose 1.03% to 3,158.5. The ABC said the ASX 200 had been up almost 1% before Wednesday's September inflation figures and finished flat.

ASX today: Key Highlights

Futures point to a slightly higher open for the ASX 200 (ABC).
The Federal Reserve left rates unchanged. Governor Lisa Cook and Cleveland Fed President Beth Hammack dissented in favour of a quarter-point rise, the ABC reported.
The S&P 500 rose 0.28%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average 0.19% and the Nasdaq Composite 0.27% on Wednesday (Yahoo Finance data).
Alphabet's Class A shares were down approximately 9% and Microsoft's up approximately 3% in after-hours trade at 4:49pm New York time. Both reported September quarter results after the close (Yahoo Finance data).
December West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose 2.02% to US$101.92 a barrel (Yahoo Finance data).
Market pricing for a Reserve Bank rate rise next Tuesday was approximately 60% just before Wednesday's inflation figures and 79% soon after, the ABC reported, citing Bloomberg and overnight index swap pricing. By mid-afternoon the ABC put it at 90%.

Wall Street overnight

The S&P 500 rose 0.28% on Wednesday to 7,743.98, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average 0.19% to 52,475.10. The Nasdaq Composite rose 0.27% to 26,549.85. The Russell 2000, an index of smaller US companies, rose 0.41% to 2,830.51 (Yahoo Finance data). Yahoo Finance said US stocks edged higher as investors digested the Fed's decision and looked to results from Microsoft and Alphabet. Oracle rose 10.73% to US$144.54. Yahoo Finance said Oracle's shares jumped after it issued a fiscal 2030 revenue outlook of US$225 billion.

The Fed's statement said "the accumulation of more information will help the Committee determine the policy stance appropriate to ensure a timely return of inflation to the Committee's 2% goal", the ABC reported. Fed Chair Kevin Warsh said the Fed had not achieved price stability. "We're working on it," he said. The ABC, citing Reuters, said markets still priced a couple more rate rises in coming months, though with slightly less conviction than before Warsh spoke, and about an 80% chance of a rise at the Fed's 8 and 9 December meeting. It said top Fed officials had indicated no rush to raise rates again after last month's quarter-point rise.

Alphabet and Microsoft reported after the close. Yahoo Finance said Alphabet's quarterly sales and profit missed Wall Street expectations, and that Microsoft beat expectations on revenue and earnings per share. Alphabet's Class A shares closed at US$324.89 and were at US$295.02 at 4:49pm New York time, down 9.19%. Microsoft closed at US$531.01 and was at US$545.73, up 2.77%. After-hours prices move on thin trade and can change before the next session opens.

The US 10-year Treasury yield was 5.045% at 2:59pm New York time on Wednesday, up 5.2 basis points from 4.993% on Tuesday (Yahoo Finance data). A basis point is one hundredth of a percentage point. The yield is the yearly return from buying US government debt at today's price and holding it until it is repaid. When yields rise, bond prices fall. Put together, Wall Street gave the ASX a small lead, and the larger moves came in after-hours technology shares, US crude and US bond yields.

Japan and Asia

The Nikkei 225 closed on Wednesday at 63,954.19, up 1.08%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 0.23% to 23,094.83, and the Shanghai Composite rose 0.91% to 3,681.47 (Yahoo Finance data). The US dollar was buying 157.77 yen at 7:46am AEDT. The Bank of Japan meets on Thursday and Friday, with its decision on Friday (Bank of Japan schedule).

London and Europe

London's FTSE 100 closed on Wednesday at 10,694.50, up 0.07% (Yahoo Finance data). Germany's DAX rose 0.44% to 25,704.02, and France's CAC 40 closed little changed at 7,886.96. The European Central Bank announces its rate decision on Thursday at 2:15pm Central European Time, which is 12:15am on Friday, AEDT (Admiral Markets calendar).

Currencies

The ABC put the Australian dollar 0.5% higher at 70.57 US cents at around 7:15am AEDT. The US dollar index, which measures the US dollar against a weighted basket of six major currencies, was at 102.14 at 7:36am AEDT, down 0.17% from 102.32 at the close of Tuesday's New York session (Yahoo Finance data). At 7:45am AEDT the euro was at US$1.1158 and the British pound at US$1.3330. In plain terms, the Australian dollar was firmer and the US dollar a little softer against the major currencies.

Commodities

December West Texas Intermediate crude futures, the US oil benchmark, were at US$101.92 a barrel at 7:36am AEDT, up 2.02% from Tuesday's close of US$99.90 (Yahoo Finance data). A Yahoo Finance headline said oil prices rose after an attack on a Saudi Arabian refinery "reignites supply concerns". December Brent crude futures, the international benchmark, were at US$114.32 a barrel at 7:42am AEDT. The January contract was at US$110.64.

December gold futures were at US$4,077.10 an ounce at 7:36am AEDT, up 0.06% from Tuesday's close of US$4,074.60 (Yahoo Finance data). Silver futures were at US$54.03 an ounce, and copper futures in New York at US$6.682 a pound.

The ABC put iron ore at US$90.70 a tonne at around 7:15am AEDT and described it as flat. For ASX energy producers, US crude is above US$100 a barrel, while gold was little changed.

Today's diary

All times AEDT.

7:55am. Suncorp Group (ASX: SUN) said it expects gross written premium, the value of insurance premiums it writes, to grow by around 3% in FY27. It said growth had been affected by the loss of a single large commercial contract, with an FY27 impact of A$125 million, and by a weaker New Zealand dollar. It said there was no other change to its FY27 outlook. Its investor update starts at 9:00am.
8:07am. Super Retail Group (ASX: SUL) reported group like-for-like sales growth of 0.2% and total sales growth of 2.0% for the first quarter of FY27. It said year-to-date earnings remained in line with management's expectations.
8:10am. JB Hi-Fi (ASX: JBH) reported total sales growth of -0.4% for JB Hi-Fi Australia in the September quarter, with comparable sales growth of -1.4%. It said sales had slowed in October ahead of Black Friday and Christmas.
8:12am. Lynas Rare Earths (ASX: LYC) reported September quarter sales revenue of A$310.1 million, 55% higher than a year earlier, and NdPr production of 2,082 tonnes. NdPr is the neodymium and praseodymium oxide used in permanent magnets. It said its average selling price was a record A$102.1 a kilogram.
11:30am. The Australian Bureau of Statistics releases the International Trade Price Indexes for September, the Energy Account for 2024-25, and education statistics from the February 2026 Labour Force Survey (ABS release calendar).
11:30pm. The US Bureau of Economic Analysis releases its first estimate of September quarter GDP, at 8:30am US Eastern time (BEA schedule).
Friday, 12:15am. The European Central Bank rate decision.
Friday. The Bank of Japan decision.
Tuesday 3 November. The Reserve Bank board decision, after its meeting on Monday and Tuesday (ABC).

Samso Concluding Comments

The ABC said the Fed's hold was expected, and the two dissenters favoured a rise. Yahoo Finance said Alphabet's results missed expectations and Microsoft's beat them, and the two shares moved in opposite directions after hours. Samso will watch how technology shares open, this morning's updates from Suncorp, JB Hi-Fi, Super Retail and Lynas, energy shares with US crude above US$100 a barrel, and bank and property shares ahead of next Tuesday's Reserve Bank decision.

Tuesday's editions are at ASX today, Tuesday 27 October 2026, and Monday's are at ASX today, Monday 26 October 2026.

General information only. This is not financial advice.