Fed says coronavirus will continue to ‘weigh heavily’ on the economy: ASX set to open slightly lower this morning
The Australian share market looks set to open slightly lower this morning as the US warns of a difficult economic recovery. Despite the S&P 500 hitting a new high for the second-straight session, and the Nasdaq hitting a new record for the third day in a row, Wall Street closed lower in the end. Federal Open Market Committee members expressed concern at their latest meeting over the future of the economy, saying that the coronavirus would continue to stunt growth.
Markets
Wall Street closed lower yesterday: The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.3 per cent to 27,693 the S&P 500 fell 0.4 per cent to 3375 and the NASDAQ closed 0.6 per cent lower at 11,146.
European markets closed higher, London’s FTSE gained 0.6 per cent, Paris added 0.8 per cent and Frankfurt closed 0.7 per cent higher.
Asian markets closed mixed, Tokyo’s Nikkei added 0.3 per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 0.7 per cent and China’s Shanghai Composite closed 1.2 per cent lower.
Taking all of this into equation, the SPI futures are pointing to a 0.3 per cent fall.
Yesterday, the Australian share market closed 0.7 per cent higher at 6168.
Company news
Genesis Energy (ASX:GNE) today announced that it delivered EBITDAF for the year of $356 million, down 4 per cent on FY19 of $369 million and Net Profit (NPAT) of $46 million, down $13 million on FY19 of $59 million. On top of these volatile conditions was the national COVID-19 disruption, which affected industrial and commercial electricity consumption, but was partially offset by an increase in consumption from residential customers.declared an increased final dividend of 8.675 cps, and a full year dividend increase to 17.20 cents per share. Shares is Genesis Energy (ASX:GNE) closed 1.57 per cent higher at $2.59 yesterday.
Companies reporting today include.
Qantas (ASX:QAN), Wesfarmers (ASX:WES) , Domain (ASX:DHG) and Coca-Cola Amatil (ASX:CCL), among others.
Currencies
One Australian Dollar at 7:45 AM was buying 71.89 US cents, 54.84 Pence Sterling, 76.23 Yen and 60.71 Euro cents.
Commodities
Iron Ore gained 0.4 per cent to US$129.09.
Iron Ore futures suggest a 0.1 per cent gain.
Gold has dropped $78.90 to US$1934 an ounce.
Silver was down $1.34 to US$26.90 an ounce.
Oil was down $0.10 to US$42.79 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
