Reserve Bank rate decision due today: ASX poised to open lower
Following mixed trade in the US, the Australian share market looks set to start the month of September lower. September is not always the best month for stocks historically, and with the US election looming we could see some volatility this month. One company to excel during the corona period is Zoom – their shares rose as much as 25 per cent yesterday – they raised their full-year guidance significantly. TikTok has chosen a bidder for its businesses here, New Zealand and the US, and it could announce the deal as soon as today according to reports. We’ll keep you up to date on that.
Local Economic News
The Reserve Bank of Australia will release their rate decision at 2:30. The Australian Bureau of Statistics will publish the Balance of Payments and International Investment Position, for June 2020. And Government Finance Statistics, for June 2020 as well as Building Approvals, for July 2020.
Markets
Wall Street closed mixed yesterday: The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.8 per cent to 28,430 the S&P 500 fell 0.2 per cent to 3500 and the NASDAQ closed 0.7 per cent higher at 11,775.
European markets closed lower, London’s FTSE was closed, Paris was down 1.1 per cent and Frankfurt closed 0.7 per cent lower.
Asian markets closed mixed, Tokyo’s Nikkei gained 1.1 per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng dropped almost 1 per cent and China’s Shanghai Composite closed 0.2 per cent lower.
Taking all of this into equation, the SPI futures are pointing to a 1 per cent fall.
Yesterday, the Australian share market closed 0.2 per cent lower at 6060.
Company news
Contact Energy (ASX:CEN) is now the 100 per cent owner of Simply Energy a Wellington-based business that delivers energy solutions for generators, distributors, retailers and commercial customers. Contact Deputy CEO James Kilty said the transaction announced last month was completed today. “New Zealand needs to accelerate the decarbonisation of its energy system and we see Simply Energy playing an increasingly important role in helping companies across the country reduce their carbon footprint. In June 2019, Contact acquired a 49.96 per cent shareholding in Simply Energy for $10.7 million. The purchase price for the remaining shares (50.04%) comprises a fixed price of $7.3 million to be paid over FY22 and FY23, and a potential performance-based payment linked to decarbonisation and earnings targets. Shares is Contact Energy (ASX:CEN) closed 0.53 per cent higher at $5.71 yesterday.
Currencies
One Australian Dollar at 7:40 AM was buying 73.77 US cents, 55.20 Pence Sterling, 78.14 Yen and 61.82 Euro cents.
Commodities
Iron Ore gained 0.1 per cent to US$124.47.
Iron Ore futures suggest a 0.2 per cent gain.
Gold has dropped $1.00 to US$1974 an ounce.
Silver was up $0.64 to US$28.43 an ounce.
Oil was down $0.15 to US$42.82 a barrel.
Copyright 2020 – Finance News Network
Source: Finance News Network
