Wall St takes a breather from record levels: ASX to open lower
The Australian share market is set to open lower following Wall St closing in the red. The Dow Jones dipped by 0.4 per cent while the tech heavy Nasdaq underperformed its peers dropping by 1 per cent. Investors took a breather on technology shares as they await guidance from first quarter earnings and recent activity in bond markets. Consumer discretionary shares led the losses with casino stocks tumbling 5-7 per cent. Electric car maker Tesla dropped 3.4 per cent after a crash in Texas left two people dead over speculation the vehicle was on autopilot. Coca-Cola shares rose 0.6 per cent after reporting better than expected earnings meanwhile Gamestop shares closed 6 per cent higher after the announcement of the CEO to step down. In Europe, investors move their focus to their quarterly earnings season and the central bank’s policy meeting on Thursday. While in Asia, global travel company Trip.com jumped 4.5 per cent from their issue price after making their debut on the Hong Kong stock exchange. Oil prices edged higher as the US dollar slumps to a six-week low.
Figures from around the globe
Wall Street closed lower yesterday: The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.4 per cent to 34,078, the S&P 500 lost 0.5 per cent to 4163 and the NASDAQ closed almost 1 per cent lower at 13915.
European markets closed mixed: London’s FTSE fell 0.3 per cent, Paris gained 0.2 per cent and Frankfurt closed 0.6 per cent lower.
Asian markets closed mostly higher: Tokyo’s Nikkei added 0.01 per cent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gained 0.5 per cent and China’s Shanghai Composite closed 1.5 per cent higher.
Taking all of this into equation, the SPI futures are pointing to 0.5 per cent fall.
Yesterday, the Australian share market closed flat yesterday at 7066.
Local economic news
The ANZ-Roy Morgan is set to release their weekly consumer sentiment index report. The minutes from the Reserve Bank are also due. Investors are keeping an eye out on the minutes for any clues following the recent positive economic data. In March, there was 70,700 new jobs added to the economy with the unemployment rate improving to 5.6 per cent. Though, the RBA has committed that they will not increase the cash rate “until actual inflation is sustainably within the 2-3 per cent target range” as they keep a look out on wages growth and the labour market.
Company news
Property investor and asset manager, Irongate (ASX:IAP) has entered into agreements to acquire two Brisbane industrial properties for a total of $20.2 million. The property in Kingston is set to be leased to an engineering company called Construction Sciences for 10 years. While the second property in Morningside is to be leased to 3M Australia for their Queensland head office. The property is to also act as a last mile distribution facility to act as the final stop for transport of goods before it makes their final destination. Shares in Irongate Group (ASX:IAP) closed 0.73 per cent higher at $1.39 yesterday.
IPOs
Latitude Financial (ASX:LFS) is set to ring the bell in Melbourne today. The consumer finance company raised $200 million and is expected to float with a market capitalisation of $2.6 billion. Keep an eye out at midday for their listing.
Currencies
One Australian Dollar at 8:00 AM was buying 77.59 US cents, 55.48 Pence Sterling, 83.91 Yen and 64.45 Euro cents.
Commodities
Iron Ore has gained 1.9 per cent to US$181.80.
Iron Ore futures suggest a 1.4 per cent gain.
Gold has lost $9.60 to US$1771 an ounce.
Silver has fallen $0.23 to US$25.88 an ounce.
Oil has gained $0.25 to US$63.38 a barrel.
Copyright 2021 – Finance News Network
Source: Finance News Network
