Live: UK and European central banks leave interest rates unchanged without ‘discussing’ rate cuts, ASX set for positive start

Good morning and welcome to Friday December 15 and the ABC business and markets blog.

Let us begin, as we normally do, by taking stock of what has happened abroad; and the positivity after the US Federal Reserve left rates unchanged has resonated again on Wall Street.

With the anticipation that the The Fed could cut interest rates three times in 2024 keeping markets afloat yesterday (aka the best early Christmas present investors and analysts could ask for), has kept US markets in positive territory again, with the Dow and S.&P500 topwhile the Nasdaq has remained practically stable.

Interest rates and central banks were also the main headline on the other side of the Atlantic, with both Bank of England and the European central bank leaving rates unchanged for another meeting.

Swiss and Sweden’s central banks also kept rates stablebut in Norwayyour central bank raised rates by 0.25 percentage points.

However, overall, European markets were positive.

So where does that leave us here in Australia?

Good, Futures point to a profit. to begin with, so we are certainly prepared and ready to take advantage of those positive results in Europe and the United States.

Grab a coffee (or other beverage of your choice) and stay with us to see if that optimism persists and how the day unfolds.