Travel restrictions imposed on NSW after more Covid cases: ASX to open lower

21Dec

Travel restrictions imposed on NSW after more Covid cases: ASX to open lower

 

The Australian share market looks set to open lower this morning as the new coronavirus outbreak has led to border restrictions with all states and territories closing their borders to New South Wales. European countries have closed their borders to the UK as a new, fast-spreading strain has been detected in the south of England leading to bans on flights to and from Britain. The US is also coping with a second wave. Iron ore is on the up and the Australian dollar is standing at almost 76 US cents.

Local economic news 

Today we have the ANZ business confidence for December, On Tuesday, the 'Preliminary Retail Trade' report for November will be issued by the Australian Bureau of Statistics. Then on Wednesday, the November 'Preliminary International Trade' report also from the ABS.

Markets

Wall Street closed lower on Friday: The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.4 per cent to close at 30,179, the S&P 500 fell 0.4 per cent to close at 3709 and the NASDAQ closed 0.1 per cent lower at 12,756.

European markets closed lower on Friday: London’s FTSE lost 0.3 per cent, Paris fell 0.4 per cent and Frankfurt closed 0.3 per cent lower.

Asian markets closed lower on Friday: Tokyo’s Nikkei lost 0.2 per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng shed 0.7 per cent and China’s Shanghai Composite closed 0.3 per cent lower.

Back home, the SPI futures are pointing to 0.2 per cent fall. On Friday, the Australian share market closed 1.2 per cent lower at 6675.

Company news

Synlait Milk (ASX:SM1) has updated its full year 2021 guidance and now expects total consumer-packaged infant formula volumes to be about 35 per cent lower than in 2020. This is due to a revised demand forecast received from The a2 Milk Company (ASX:A2M) following its 1H21 and FY21 guidance update released. The a2 Milk Company is a strategic customer and cornerstone shareholder of Synlait. NPAT result will be approximately half that of the FY20 NPAT result. This updated guidance announcement reflects the impact that Covid-19 has had on Synlait’s strategic customer. Shares in Synlait Milk (ASX:SM1) closed 1.91 per cent lower at $4.61 on Friday.

Ex-Dividends

Eildon Capital Group (ASX:EDC) is paying 2 cents unfranked
Kelly Partners Group (ASX:KPG) is paying 1.33 cents fully franked

Currencies

One Australian Dollar at 7:40 AM was buying 75.92 US cents, 56.59 Pence Sterling, 78.57 Yen and 62.09 Euro cents.

Commodities

Iron Ore has gained 3.7 per cent to US$164.39
Iron Ore futures suggest a 2.2 per cent gain.
Gold was down $1.50 to US$1889 an ounce.
Silver has dropped $0.15 to US$26.03 an ounce.
Oil was up $0.74 to US$49.10 a barrel
 
Copyright 2020 – Finance News Network


Source: Finance News Network

Share this post

Related Posts

01Feb

First remuneration report strike for Freedom Foods (ASX:FNP): Aus shares down 2.9% over week

29 Jan 2021 - Aussie shares ended lower today, deepening yesterday’s sell off. Energy stocks were the hardest hit, dropping over 2 per cent as the iron price weakened. At the closing bell the S&P/ASX 200 index closed 42 points or 0.6 per cent lower to finish at 6,607. Over the week, the market has lost 2.9 per cent or 193 points. Freedom Foods Group (ASX:FNP) chalked up its first strike against the remuneration report at today’s AGM.

Read More
05May

Investors await RBA statement: ASX to open higher

05 May 2020 - Following a buying spree from US markets, the ASX looks set to open higher this morning. Crude oil gained for a fourth consecutive day. Stocks were lower during much of yesterday’s session after tensions escalated between the Trump administration and China, but energy, information technology and utilities gained with a late session rally. Centuria Capital (ASX:CNI) has agreed to acquire an initial 19% interest in Augusta Capital, New Zealand’s leading listed real estate funds manager.

Read More
28Mar

S&P 500 gains 8% in 2-weeks, best run since 2020, Rio, FMG, Macquarie, Scentre on watch: ASX to rise

28 Mar 2022 - Global markets closed mixed on Friday, rising US treasury bond yields boosted financials though hurt growth stocks while rising commodity prices limited losses. An attack at Saudi Arabia’s oil company Aramco in Jeddah sent oil prices higher. ASX closed higher for the 2nd week in a row. Explanation of an inverted yield curve and last week's bond movement. Review of what’s ahead for the week and stocks to watch today.

Read More
21May

Israel & Hamas agree to ceasefire: Aus shares to open higher

21 May 2021 - The Australian sharemarket is set to rise at the open, in the wake of strong claw-backs on Wall Street amidst optimistic global sentiment. All US benchmarks closed in positive territory and snapped Wall Street’s three-day run of losses, as encouraging unemployment data enticed stateside investors to re-enter the hunt for bargain-buying opportunities.

Read More
06Jan

Wall St sinks on interest rate jitters, Tech rout continues: ASX to fall

06 Jan 2022 - Wall St sinks as Dow snaps winning streak on meeting minutes. Global indexes were mixed in anticipation ahead of the December FOMC minutes to be released. Aristocrat Leisure (ASX:ALL) has hit a roadblock in its $3.9 billion bid for UK Playtech.

Read More
11Sep

Overseas visitors continued decline – ABS: Aus shares close 0.8% lower

11 Sep 2020 - The Australian share market opened slightly higher and closed 0.8 per cent down at the end of trade. The Australian Bureau of Statistics has released annual overseas arrivals and departure figures for the month of July. Overseas visitor arrivals to Australia decreased 34.6 per cent month on month. Australian resident returns from overseas decreased 34.7 per cent month on month.

Read More
31Aug

AUD rally decelerates after reaching 1.5-year high: ASX closes 0.2% lower

31 Aug 2020 - The Australian share market finished lower despite promising signs of an afternoon rally after midday. Meanwhile, the Australian dollar reached a 1.5-year high this morning, surpassing the 73.8 cent mark for the first time since December 2018. This was a response to the release of private sector profitability and borrowing data. However, the rally decelerated after Midday, on the back of the US dollar strengthening.

Read More
02Aug

Wall St lower, Square to acquire Afterpay for $39bn, Credit Suisse cuts Fortescue & Iress ratings: ASX to rise

02 Aug 2021 - Major indexes across the globe closed in negative territory on Friday as rising Covid-19 cases put a lid on sentiment over the pace of the economic recovery, while Asian markets closed the week out with a tumble. Square is set to acquire Afterpay (ASX:APT) for $39 billion. Why Citi downgrades its rating for Fortescue Metals (ASX:FMG) and Iress (ASX:IRE). Earnings season kicks off locally.

Read More
07Jul

Wall St rally takes a breather, Why Oil Search is a buy: ASX to edge lower

07 Jul 2021 - In this report, I cover Wall St's mixed performance, why Energy got a hit after OPEC's feud. UK fiscal's watchdog barks as FTSE fell, wrap-up of the local bourse following the RBA's taper though kept rates steady. Two companies set to debut on the ASX today.

Read More
15Jul

Consumer sentiment drops 6.1%: Aus shares close 1.9% higher

15 Jul 2020 - The Australian share market rose sharply at the open and continued to rally closing 1.9 per cent up at the end of today’s trade. The Westpac-Melbourne Institute Index of Consumer Sentiment fell 6.1 per cent to 87.9 in July from 93.7 in June.

Read More