Market boost as Trump delays some China tariffs: ASX poised to open higher

Following positive leads from US markets, the Australian share market looks set to open higher this morning. US President Donald Trump decided to delay imposing tariffs on some imports from China until 15 December because of “health, safety, national security and other factors”. The products include mobile phones, laptops, video game consoles, some toys, computer monitors, and certain footwear and clothing. The news sparked a rally pushed forward by Apple. Other items facing a 10 per cent tariff will go ahead as planned on 1 September.

Local economic news

ABS Wage Price Index for June 2019.
The Westpac-Melbourne Institute will release the consumer confidence report for August

Markets

Wall Street closed higher yesterday: The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 1.5 per cent to close at 26,280, the S&P 500 closed 1.5 per cent higher at 2926 and the NASDAQ gained almost 2 per cent to 8016.

European markets closed higher: London’s FTSE added 0.3 per cent, Paris gained almost 1 per cent and Frankfurt was up 0.6 per cent.

Asian markets closed lower: Tokyo’s Nikkei dropped 1.1 per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was down 2.1 per cent and China’s Shanghai Composite fell 0.6 per cent.

Taking all of this into equation, the SPI futures are pointing to a 0.7 per cent gain.

Yesterday, the Australian share market closed 22 points or 0.3 per cent lower at 6569.

Company news

Civmec (ASX:CVL) has secured the award of a major iron ore project for Fortescue Metals Group (ASX:FMG). They will deliver the Primary Crushing and Ore Processing Facility for Fortescue’s new Eliwana Mine and Rail project in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. The package will provide employment for an estimated 300 local people. Civmec also recently secured additional contracts within its maintenance division and subsea fabrication work for the Oil & Gas sector, and these combined with the award of the Eliwana package from Fortescue, brings the value of new work since the beginning of the financial year to approximately $120 million. Shares in Fortescue Metals Group (ASX:FMG) closed 3.6 per cent higher at $7.22 yesterday.

Reporting Season

– Computershare (ASX:CPU)
– CSL (ASX:CSL)
– Dexus (ASX:DXS)
– Tabcorp Holdings (ASX:TAH)
– Vicinity Centres (ASX:VCX)

Ex – Dividend

Amyf Four (ASX:AYK) is paying 88 cents 41 per cent franked
Amyf Five (ASX:AYZ) is paying 89 cents 74 per cent franked
Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX:CBA) is paying 231 centsfull franked
Navigator Global Investments (ASX:NGI) is paying 13.4008 cents unfranked
ResMed (ASX:RMD) is paying 3.9179 cents unfranked
Ryder Capital (ASX:RYD) is paying 3 cents full franked
Scentre Group (ASX:SCG) is paying 11.3 cents unfranked
Suncorp Group (ASX:SUN) is paying 44 cents fully franked

Currencies

One Australian Dollar at 7:40AM was buying 67.99US cents, 56.40Pence Sterling, 72.58 Yen and 60.88 Euro cents.

Commodities

Iron Ore futures suggest a 2.2 per cent gain
Gold has shed $4.80 to US$1512 an ounce.
Silver was down $0.14 cents to US$16.93 an ounce.
Oil has gained $1.87 to US$56.72 a barrel.

Source: Finance News Network