If Wall Street is anything to go by, the Australian share market could be set for a strong climb on Thursday.
Like the S&P/ASX 200 (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO), share markets all around the world have been gripped with panic and fear sparked by China's slowing economy, with hundreds of billions of dollars being wiped off their value over the last week or so.
Overnight however, the Dow Jones rocketed 3.95 per cent while the NASDAQ was up 4.24 per cent. The benchmark S&P 500 also surged 3.9 per cent as Wall Street finally got its mojo back.
As highlighted by the Fairfax press, the market's performance was supported by stronger-than-expected data on durable goods orders, as well as comments from New York Fed president William Dudley that appeared to make a September interest rate hike less likely.
It seems that not all is bad in the global economy after all…
Speaking of interest rates, the market's recent turmoil could also lead to an official interest rate cut from the Reserve Bank of Australia when it meets next week.
With the stock market narrowly avoiding an official bear market on Tuesday this week, combined with rising economic uncertainty and plummeting commodity prices, we could be left with a cash rate of just 1.75 per cent.
Regardless of whether or not that happens, you can be sure that interest rates will remain low for the foreseeable future, meaning that shares are still your best bet for maximising your long-term wealth.
You can also be sure that now could be an excellent time to pick up some high-quality companies trading at dirt-cheap prices.
Right now, I've got my eye on companies like Carsales.Com Ltd (ASX: CAR) and ResMed Inc. (CHESS) (ASX: RMD), although there are plenty of other bargains tempting me, too.
