Market snapshot:
- ASX 200 Futures: +0.6% to 8,033
- Australian dollar: +0.2% to 62.99 US cents
- S&P 500: +0.2% to 5,777 points
- Dow Jones: +0.01% to 42,587 points.
- Nasdaq: +0.5% to 18,272 points
- FTSE: +0.3% to 8,663 points
- EuroStoxx: +0.7% to 553 points
- Spot gold: +0.3% at US3,020/ounce
- Brent crude: +0.2% to $US73.13/barrel
- Iron ore: -0.7% to $US101.55 a tonne
- Bitcoin: -0.4% to $US88,074
Figures at approx. 7:25am AEDT
Live values below:
What’s in the budget?
Last night, Treasurer Jim Chalmers handed down his latest budget.
It’s an important one for Labour given just how close we are to an election being called.
Our political reporters have broken down what it all means for you with a handy guide:
The health of the economy
Our finance reporter Alan Kohler also took a special look at the budget pressures that are fuelling deficits this year and beyond.
US consumer confidence slips
Good morning and welcome to Wednesday’s markets blog!
I’m Rachel Clayton, here to take you through the morning.
Overnight, Wall Street made gains despite disappointing data pointing to the lowest consumer confidence rating in the US in four years.
The Nasdaq closed +0.5% higher, the S&P 500 made modest gains of +0.2% and the Dow barely moved, flat at +0.01%.
The consumer index fell to 92.9 in March – its lowest since February 2021.
The Conference Board said on Tuesday that write-in responses to the survey showed “worries about the impact of trade policies and tariffs in particular are on the rise,” adding “there were also more references than usual to economic and policy uncertainty.”
Meanwhile, back home all eyes are on the federal government’s surprise tax cuts announced last night.
To find out how much you could save depending on your income, the ABC has created a handy-dandy calculator:
