ASX 200 to fall; August retail data ahead; Star concerns; Powell signals more rate cuts; China stocks surge

August retail sales data due as house prices tick up. Qatar Airways to buy stake in Virgin. Star auditors raise red flags. US Fed chair strikes upbeat note on the US economy. Chinese stocks mark best day in 16 years.

China's stimulus measures and US easing are driving equity market pacing around the world. Picture: Gaye Gerard

Welcome to the Trading Day blog for Tuesday, October 1. ASX 200 to fall despite Wall Street's gains. August retail sales data due as house prices tick up. Qatar Airways to buy stake in Virgin. Star auditors raise red flags. US Fed chair strikes upbeat note on the US economy. Chinese stocks mark best day in 16 years.

ASX 200 futures are 0.4 per cent lower at 8274 points after the US session ended.

On Wall Street, the S&P 500 closed at a fresh record high after rising 0.4 per cent; the technology-focused Nasdaq Composite also rose 0.4 per cent and the Dow Jones notched another record with its 17-point gain.

US 10-year bond settled at 3.79 per cent following Federal chairman Jerome Powell's suggestions the central bank would likely refrain from extra-large interest-rate cuts if the US economy remains solid.

Oil prices traded flat with the global benchmark Brent crude near $US71.92 per barrel and the US WTI around $US68.29 per barrel.

Gold futures came off recent highs near $US2656.40 an ounce.

Iron ore futures on the Singapore exchange jumped 7 per cent to $US108.90 per tonne as China's housing stimulus measures continue. China's Shanghai Composite surged 8.1 per cent, its best day since 2008.

The Aussie dollar is trading near US69.08c.