Stocks slip ahead of interest rate decision
Posted
Updated
Market falling: Australian stocks fell this morning after a grim night on Wall St (AFP: Greg Wood, file photo)
Australian stocks have managed to avoid mirroring Wall Street's dramatic falls as investors hold out for a big interest rate cut this afternoon.
New York's Dow Jones Industrial Average closed almost 8 per cent lower this morning after the pronouncement that the US is in recession.
Australian stocks are also down, but after earlier falling around 3 per cent the All Ordinaries index clawed back some ground to be down 2.4 per cent at around 1:00pm AEDT.
The ASX 200 had lost 90 points to 3,592.
Most sectors have declined, but the miners have been the hardest hit after falls in base metals prices.
The Australian dollar was lower at 63.82 US cents.
Investors are hoping the Reserve Bank will announce an interest rate cut of at least 75 basis points this afternoon, which would take the cash rate to 4.5 per cent.
Overnight, news that the US is officially in recession saw stocks on Wall Street plunge.
The Dow Jones Index lost nearly 8 per cent and the Nasdaq and Standard and Poor's indices fell even more.
Search for news
ABC News Online takes a look at the big stories from 2008.
