Tech stocks give Wall Street a huge boost: ASX set to open higher

The Australian share market looks set to open higher this morning after tech stocks gave the US market a boost. Apple shares helped the market with a jump of more than 2 per cent. They hit a record high after releasing announcements. Microsoft and Neflix both gained over 2 per cent. And Zoom is no longer the best performing work-from-home stock. Fastly has taken over – their shares climbed 15 per cent yesterday to $73.27, following 36 per cent surge last week. A rise in coronavirus cases has been recorded in the US and Brazil and India, but global investors are confident of a quick global recovery helping the markets.

Local economic news due out today

International Merchandise Trade, Preliminary, May 2020.

Markets

Wall Street closed higher yesterday: The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.6 per cent to 26,025 the S&P 500 added 0.7 per cent to 3118 and the NASDAQ closed 1.1 per cent higher at 10,056

European markets closed lower, London’s FTSE fell 0.8 per cent, Paris lost 0.6 per cent and Frankfurt also closed 0.6 per cent lower.

Asian markets closed lower, Tokyo’s Nikkei fell 0.2 per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng closed 0.5 per cent lower, and China’s Shanghai Composite lost 0.1 per cent.

Taking all of this into equation, the SPI futures are pointing to a 0.6 per cent gain.

Yesterday, the Australian share market closed 0.03 per cent higher at 5945.

Company news

AMP (ASX:AMP) announced this morning that the sale of AMP Life to Resolution Life has received all regulatory approvals and confirms it expects the transaction to complete after the market closes on 30 June 2020. AMP will provide an update to the market on 1 July 2020. In making its decision the Reserve Bank sought and considered advice from an independent actuary, and liaised with the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) in reaching the conclusion. Shares in AMP (ASX:AMP) closed 0.57 per cent higher at $1.76 yesterday.

Currencies

One Australian Dollar at 8:00 AM was buying 69.14 US cents, 55.45 Pence Sterling, 73.93 Yen and 61.39 Euro cents.

Commodities

Iron Ore lost 0.6 per cent to US$101.75.
Iron Ore futures suggest a -0.6 per cent fall.
Gold has added $13.40 to US$1766 an ounce.
Silver was up 5 cents to US$18.07 an ounce.
Oil has gained $0.71 to US$40.46 a barrel.

Source: Finance News Network