Telix Pharmaceuticals (down 3.5 per cent) recorded the sharpest losses among large-caps, followed by sleep treatments giant Resmed (down 3 per cent) and Spark New Zealand (down 2.3 per cent).

The lowdown

All eyes are on the interest rate decision by the Fed, expected to be released on Thursday 4am AEDT. Traders have priced in a 65 per cent chance of a 50 basis point rate cut, while the market has fully priced for a quarter of a percentage point cut.

Capital senior financial market analyst Kyle Rodda said investors’ reaction to the size of the cut would be based on the Fed’s guidance and commentary on the state of the US economy.

“The Fed could cut 25 or 50 basis points and the markets could be okay with either if the Fed offers guidance projections that maintain the total number of existing cuts in the curve,” Rodda said.

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“The critical thing is maintaining the 100 basis points of cuts priced in before the end of the year, and the nearly 10 cuts discounted before the end of 2025. For example, a 25 basis point move might prompt knee-jerk fear in the markets. However, if the Fed’s commentary and [statement] make it very clear that a 50 point move is on the cards, if not likely, in either November or December, then a 25 point move at this meeting would be a relatively trivial matter of timing.”

On Wall Street, the S&P 500 edged up by less than 0.1 per cent. It remains 0.6 per cent below its all-time closing high set in July, but briefly rose above that mark during the morning.

The Dow Jones slipped 15.90 points, or less than 0.1 per cent, while the Nasdaq composite edged up by 0.2 per cent.

In the bond market, the 10-year Treasury yield rose to 3.64 per cent from 3.62 per cent late Monday. The two-year yield, which more closely tracks expectations for the Fed’s actions, rose to 3.59 per cent from 3.56 per cent.

Tweet of the day

Quote of the day

“What this report says is that a universal early education system is one where every child gets access to three days a week, or 30 hours a week, of high-quality education and care, and that every parent can afford for their child to get access to that,” Education Minister Jason Clare said after the Productivity Commission released a report on the childcare sector recommending further raising subsidies for families.

“It sets out a road map for how we might be able to achieve that over the next decade or so.”

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