Extreme lockdown begins for South Australia: ASX poised to open lower
The Australian share market looks set to fall at the open this morning. The Dow saw a second day of losses. South Australia’s six-day restrictions have now come into force after a new and highly-infectious strain of coronavirus was brought in from the UK. All schools and construction sites have been closed and people must wear masks outside. Over in the US, the country is poised to surpass 250,000 virus-related deaths within the next 24 hours, according to John Hopkins University data. The US has 11.4 million known cases.
Economic News
The Australian Bureau of Statistics will release the latest unemployment figures for November.
Markets
Wall Street closed lower yesterday: The Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 1.2 per cent to 29,438, the S&P 500 dipped 1.4 per cent to 3568 and the NASDAQ closed 0.8 per cent lower at 11,802.
European markets closed higher, London’s FTSE added 0.3 per cent, Paris gained 0.5 per cent and Frankfurt closed almost 0.5 per cent higher.
Asian markets closed mixed, Tokyo’s Nikkei lost 1.1 per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 0.5 per cent and China’s Shanghai Composite closed 0.2 per cent higher.
Taking all of this into equation, the SPI futures are pointing to a 0.1 per cent gain.
Yesterday, the Australian share market closed 0.5 per cent higher at 6531.
Company news
Oil Search (ASX:OSH) has increased resources within their Alaskan portfolio with a 33 per cent increase taking their portfolio from 728 million barrels of oil to 968 mmbbl. The company is well positioned to progress into FEED in early 2021 for a single drill site first phase of the Pikka Project. The project will generate substantial jobs, tax, royalty and other revenues for the State of Alaska and regional and local communities over its projected life. The company also reports that they are aiming to reduce operated greenhouse gas emissions by 30 per cent by 2030. Shares in Oil Search (ASX:OSH) closed 2.6 per cent lower at $3.82.
Ex-Dividends
Investec Australia Property Fund (ASX:IAP) is paying 4.4 cents unfranked
WAM Capital Limited (ASX:WAM) is paying 7.8 cents fully franked
Currencies
One Australian Dollar at 7:45 AM was buying 73.08 US cents, 55.06 Pence Sterling, 75.90 Yen and 61.64 Euro cents.
Commodities
Gold has lost $15.90 to US$1869 an ounce.
Silver was down $0.34 to US$24.32 an ounce.
Oil was up $0.29 to US$41.72 a barrel.
Iron Ore futures suggest 2.2 per cent rise.
Copyright 2020 – Finance News Network
Source: Finance News Network
