Aussie dollar rises over 72 US cents: ASX set to open higher
The Australian share market looks set to open higher this morning as US stocks rose mostly on technology as big banks sold off. The Democratic National Convention starts to run this week in the US ahead of the presidential election set for November – this is expected to raise caution on Wall Street. We’ll keep you posted on this and any market movement around that time. The Australian dollar was up 0.49 per cent to 72.17 US cents.
Local Economic News
RBA board meeting minutes August
Markets
Wall Street closed mixed yesterday: The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.3 per cent to 27,845 the S&P 500 gained 0.3 per cent to 3382 and the NASDAQ closed 1 per cent higher at 11,130.
European markets closed higher, London’s FTSE gained 0.6 per cent, Paris added 0.2 per cent and Frankfurt closed 0.2 per cent higher.
Asian markets closed mixed, Tokyo’s Nikkei fell 0.8 per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng added 0.7 per cent and China’s Shanghai Composite closed 2.3 per cent higher.
Taking all of this into equation, the SPI futures are pointing to a 0.5 per cent gain.
Yesterday, the Australian share market closed 0.8 per cent lower at 6076.
Company news
Fisher & Paykel Healthcare (ASX:FPH) report that for the first four months of the financial year, to the end of July 2020, strong demand for the company’s Hospital respiratory care products continues to approximately track the spread of Covid-19 around the world. Hospital hardware sales have continued to steadily increase over the first four months of FY21 with +390 per cent constant currency revenue growth to the end of July compared to the prior comparable period. On this basis and at current exchange rates, full year operating revenue for the 2021 financial year would be approximately $1.61 billion and net profit after tax would be approximately $365 million to $385 million. Shares in Fisher & Paykel Healthcare (ASX:FPH) closed 1.53 per cent higher at $31.84 yesterday.
Reporting season
Today's companies include Amcor (ASX:AMC), BHP (ASX:BHP), Coles (ASX:COL), Westpac (ASX:WBC) and Cochlear (ASX:COH).
Currencies
One Australian Dollar at 7:50 AM was buying 72.17 US cents, 55.09 Pence Sterling, 76.54 Yen and 60.79 Euro cents.
Commodities
Iron Ore lost 0.4 per cent to US$122.44.
Iron Ore futures suggest a 1.6 per cent gain.
Gold has gained $43.90 to US$1994 an ounce.
Silver was up $1.51 to US$27.77 an ounce.
Oil was up $0.80 to US$42.81 a barrel.
You can find details on our website about this month’s Investor Event on Tuesday, 25 August 2020.
Copyright 2020 – Finance News Network
Source: Finance News Network
