US stocks rose to new records following the latest discouraging signal on the job market’s health. Wall Street is hoping for a slowdown that’s deep enough to get the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates, but not so overwhelming that it causes a recession.

The S&P 500 rose 0.3 per cent after bobbing earlier in the morning around its all-time high set last week. The Dow Jones jumped 196.4 points, or 0.4 per cent and the Nasdaq composite added 0.4 per cent.

The Australian sharemarket is set to inch lower, with futures at 6am AEST pointing to a loss of 4 points at the open. The ASX lost 0.6 per cent on Tuesday. The Australian dollar was fetching US65.83¢ at 6.08am.

Traders have become convinced that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates for the first time this year at its next meet

See Full Page