ASX to lift as Morrison eases rate rise pain for pensioners

ASX to rise as the deeming rate for almost 900,000 social security recipients has been frozen. (Source: Getty)

ASX: The local market is expected to rise after US stocks rallied yesterday.

This comes after the Reserve Bank of Australia lifted the cash rate for the first time in more than a decade yesterday.

Wall Street: Wall Street stocks ended higher after a choppy session in which each of the major US indices fluctuated between gains and losses as a key meeting of the Federal Reserve got underway.

Investors picked up shares of financials and technology companies ahead of Wednesday's expected announcement by the Fed.

The US central bank kicked off its two-day policy meeting on Tuesday.

Pensioners: The Prime Minister has moved to freeze the deeming rate for almost 900,000 social security recipients in the wake of the Reserve Bank raising interest rates for the first time in more than a decade.

The rates used to determine income from financial assets will be frozen for the next two years, in an attempt to ensure payments for aged pensioners and other recipients won't be reduced.

Spending: Growth in retail spending is expected to have slowed even before Australians feel the impact of the first official interest rate rise in more than a decade.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics will today release retail trade figures for March.

Consumer confidence has also slumped in the past week, with the weekly ANZ-Roy Morgan consumer confidence index - a pointer to future household spending - tumbling 6 per cent.

Strike: Thousands of NSW teachers are set to go on strike in a bid to increase their pay and reduce their workload.

Victorian budget: A $12 billion health-funding pledge to hire more nurses, paramedics and emergency call-takers was the big-ticket item from this year's "Putting Patients First" Budget.

-With AAP

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