Dow snaps 4-day winning streak: Aus shares to open flat

Australians stocks are poised for a steady start, following weak leads from Wall Street. The US benchmark indices dipped from record highs, as the Dow Jones Industrial Average snapped its 4-day streak in the black. President Biden’s infrastructural development bill has come under increased scrutiny, as economists on both sides of the divide disagree on the proposed 28 per cent rise in corporate tax

The Caixin/Markit services survey or China’s services PMI for March revealed a 2.8-point increase month-on-month to 54.3, indicating growth in service business activity. This positive data enticed stocks to make strong gains across European benchmark indices. Bucking the optimistic news however, financial services provider Credit Suisse suffered a $4.7 billion loss following the fall-out of major US hedge fund Archegos Capital Management. As a result, the Swiss banking giant has been forced to farewell several senior officers and introduce dividend cuts.

Local Economic News

Today, the AiGroup releases its March Performance of Construction index. And the weekly reading of consumer sentiment is issued by ANZ and Roy Morgan.

To the figures from around the globe: Wall Street closed lower yesterday: The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.3 per cent to close at 33,430, the S&P 500 fell 0.1 per cent to 4074 and the NASDAQ closed 0.1 per cent lower at 13,698.

European markets closed higher: London’s FTSE gained 1.3 per cent, Paris added 0.5 per cent and Frankfurt closed 0.7 per cent higher.

Asian markets closed lower: Tokyo’s Nikkei fell 1.3 per cent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was closed and China’s Shanghai Composite closed 0.04 per cent lower.

Taking all of this into equation, the SPI futures are pointing to 0.04 per cent gain.

Yesterday, the Australian share market closed 0.8 per cent higher at 6886.

Company news

Air New Zealand (ASX:AIZ)’s fleet for services between Australia and New Zealand will be back in the air in full force once more from April 19th.

The news came on the back of NZ Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s announcement of the long-awaited Trans-Tasman travel bubble yesterday afternoon. New Zealand’s flag carrier will marginally bump up the number of flights from 4 to 23 two-way flights between Sydney and Auckland on the aforementioned date, as quarantine-free travel will resume between the two Oceanic neighbours.

Shares in Air New Zealand closed 8.2 per cent higher at $1.71 yesterday.

Ex-Div

Adbri Limited (ASX:ABC) is paying 7.25 cents fully franked
Clime Capital (ASX:CAM) is paying 1.2 cents fully franked
Clover Corporation (ASX:CLV) is paying 0.5 cents fully franked
Hearts and Minds Investments (ASX:HM1) is paying 12 cents fully franked
Pengana International Equities Ltd (ASX:PIA) is paying 1.25 cents fully franked
WAM Research Ltd (ASX:WAX) is paying 4.95 cents fully franked
WAM Alternative (ASX:WMA) is paying 1 cent fully franked
WAM Microcap Limited (ASX:WMI) is paying 4 cents fully franked

Currencies

One Australian Dollar at 7:35 AM was buying 76.67 US cents, 55.47 Pence Sterling, 84.18 Yen and 64.60 Euro cents.

Commodities

Iron Ore has gained 1.4 per cent to US$170.90
Iron Ore futures suggest a 2.04 per cent gain.
Gold has gained $14.20 to US$1743 an ounce.
Silver has added $0.45 to US$25.23 an ounce.
Oil has gained $0.68 to US$59.33 a barrel.

Source: Finance News Network