Iron ore jumps almost 6%: ASX set to open higher
The Australian share market looks set to open higher this morning as iron ore sees further gains. New York was up. British negotiators yesterday arrived in Brussels for a last-ditch attempt to strike a Brexit trade deal with the European Union. Since Britain formally left the EU on Jan. 31, negotiators have missed a series of deadlines to reach a deal with the world’s largest trading bloc. People in Victoria are now no longer required to wear masks unless they cant physically distance as restrictions ease across the state.
Economic News
The week kicks off on Monday with the Reserve Bank Governor delivering a speech to the Australian Payments Network. The Reserve Bank will issue data on credit and debit card lending.
On Tuesday, weekly indicators are issued, including Commonwealth Bank data on card spending and the ANZ-Roy Morgan consumer sentiment index.
Also on Tuesday: the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) publishes home prices data for the September quarter.
On Wednesday, Westpac and the Melbourne Institute publish the December consumer confidence report.
On Thursday, the ABS will issue figures on Jobs in Australia.
Markets
Wall Street closed higher on Friday: The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.8 per cent to close at 30,218, the S&P 500 gained 0.9 per cent to close at 3699 and the NASDAQ closed 0.7 per cent higher at 12,464.
European markets closed higher on Friday: London’s FTSE added 0.9 per cent, Paris gained 0.6 per cent and Frankfurt closed 0.4 per cent higher.
Asian markets closed mixed on Friday: Tokyo’s Nikkei lost 0.2 per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gained 0.4 per cent and China’s Shanghai Composite closed 0.1 per cent higher.
Back home, the SPI futures are pointing to 0.6 per cent gain. On Friday, the Australian share market closed 0.3 per cent higher at 6634.
Company news
Infratil (ASX:IFT) is to undertake a strategic review of its shareholding in Tilt Renewables Limited (ASX:TLT). Infratil currently owns 65.5 per cent of the outstanding shares. Given strong demand for high quality renewables platforms globally, Infratil considers it is prudent to assess alternatives for its Tilt shareholding, including divestment of its position. The strategic review is scheduled to be concluded within six months. Tilt will have 343 operating turbines across 9 wind farms in Australia and New Zealand, with a total installed capacity of 836MW. Shares in Infratil (ASX:IFT) closed 0.27 per cent higher at $5.53 on Friday.
Ex-Dividends
The Citadel Group (ASX:CGL) is paying 20 cents fully franked
Collins Foods Ltd (ASX:CKF) is paying 10.5 cents fully franked
Currencies
One Australian Dollar at 7:45 AM was buying 74.36 US cents, 55.63 Pence Sterling, 77.36 Yen and 61.34 Euro cents.
Commodities
Iron Ore has gained 5.8 per cent to US$145.01.
Iron Ore futures suggest a 4.5 per cent gain.
Gold was down $1.10 to US$1840 an ounce.
Silver has added $0.12 to US$24.25 an ounce.
Oil was up $0.62 to US$46.26 a barrel.
Copyright 2020 – Finance News Network
Source: Finance News Network
