Gold and oil fall as Trump eases Middle East tensions: ASX poised to open higher

 

Following positive leads from US markets, the Australian share market looks set to open higher this morning. President Donald Trump calmed Middle East tensions as he said that Iran “appears to be standing down” after it fired missiles at American targets in Iraq in retaliation for the US killing of the Iranian General. On the commodities front, Gold and oil fell as Middle East tensions eased. In other Apple shares surged to a record high yesterday after App Store customers spent $2 billion between Christmas Day and New Year's Eve.

Local economic news 

ABS
International Trade in Goods and Services, November 2019.

Markets 

Wall Street closed higher yesterday: The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 0.6 per cent higher at 28,745, the S&P 500 gained 0.5 per cent to 3,253 and the NASDAQ climbed 0.7 per cent to 9,129.

European markets closed higher: London’s FTSE added 0.01 per cent, Paris rose 0.3 per cent and Frankfurt added 0.7 per cent.

Asian markets closed lower: Tokyo’s Nikkei lost 1.6 per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 0.8 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 46 point rise, that 0.5 per cent rise.

Yesterday, the Australian share market closed 0.1 per cent lower or 9 points down at 6,818.

Company news

Biotech Immutep (ASX:IMM) has completed recruitment for stage 1 of Part C of TACTI-002 trial, for patients with second line Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma. The company develops novel immunotherapy treatments for cancer and autoimmune diseases. Part C of the trial has been expanded to include an additional 19 patients, creating stage 2 of Part C. The Company continues to progress its AIPAC trial which evaluates its lead product candidate, eftilagimod alpha in combination with chemotherapy in 227 metastatic breast cancer patients. The first progression-free survival read-out remains on track for Q1 CY20 and is expected to be reported in March 2020. Shares in Immutep (ASX:IMM) closed flat at $0.27 yesterday.

Currencies

One Australian Dollar at 9.15AM was buying 68.67 US cents, 52.47 Pence Sterling, 74.93 Yen and 61.84 Euro cents.

Commodities

Iron Ore price has gained 1.2 per cent to $96.22.
Iron Ore futures suggest a 0.3 per cent fall.
Gold has lost $17.30 to US$1,557 an ounce.
Silver has lost $0.27 to US$18.12 an ounce.
Oil has fallen by $2.84 to US$59.86 a barrel.
 
Copyright 2020 – Finance News Network

Source: Finance News Network