S&P 500 closes flat, OPEC+ opts out of meeting: ASX to rise

29Apr

S&P 500 closes flat, OPEC+ opts out of meeting: ASX to rise

 

The Australian share market is to rise following another mixed session from Wall St, as investors await earnings figures amid positive economic data. The S&P 500 closed flat ahead of heavyweight technology companies set to release figures after the bell. The Nasdaq fell for the first time in three sessions led by Tesla and Alphabet. Shares in Tesla tumbled 4.5 per cent despite the electric carmaker reporting yesterday a record climb  of 74 per cent in revenue when compared to a year ago. Meanwhile, home prices in February rose over 12 per cent, up 11.2 per cent from January recording its highest gain in 15 years as released by the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller. Adding to the positive economic news, consumer confidence rebounded sharply in April hitting its highest level since February 2020. Amid this, investors will keep their eyes on the US Federal Reserve policymaker’s meeting held over the next few days for any updates following the recent positive economic data. On the commodities front, oil prices rose after the OPEC+ producer group opted out on holding a full ministerial meeting scheduled on Wednesday as they stick to their existing plans to boost oil output slightly from 1 May.

Figures from around the globe

Wall Street closed mixed yesterday, The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed almost flat, up 0.01 per cent to 33,985, the S&P 500 lost 0.02 per cent to 4,187 and the NASDAQ closed 0.3 per cent lower at 14,090

European markets closed lower ahead of the US Federal Reserve meeting. London’s FTSE fell 0.3 per cent, Paris lost 0.03 per cent and Frankfurt closed 0.3 per cent lower.

Asian markets closed mixed as worries on the pandemic continues, Tokyo’s Nikkei lost 0.5 per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng lost 0.04 per cent and China’s Shanghai Composite closed 0.04 per cent higher.

Taking all of this into equation, the SPI futures are pointing to a 0.2 per cent gain.

Yesterday, the Australian share market closed 0.2 per cent lower at 7,034.

Local economic news

The Australian Bureau of Statistics will be releasing three reports today. Eyes are going to be on the consumer price index report set to be released by for the March quarter. Westpac economists are forecasting a 1.0 per cent lift which will see the annual growth rate rise from 0.5 to 1.5 per cent. The weekly payroll jobs and wages report and the preliminary international trade figures for March.

In company news that broke after market close

Mobile financial services platform Raiz Invest (ASX:RZI) reports their funds under management grew by 14.6 per cent to $694.3 million with active customers increasing by 22.1 per cent for the Q3 FY21. The company’s revenue grew by 24.8 per cent. In May last year, the micro investing app company announced its offer to provide Bitcoin exposure as part of its seventh investment portfolio, Sapphire. The portfolio took 18 months to develop and has been targeted to “meet growing customer appetite for exposure to the alternative asset class of cryptocurrency”. The portfolio today has more than 40,000 customers. Shares in RAIZ Invest (ASX:RZI) closed 1.49 per cent lower at $1.66 yesterday.

In breaking news

US Google parent company Alphabet report a 34 per cent rise in revenue to $US55.31 billion when compared to the same time last year for their first quarter 2021 boosted by strong online advertising and YouTube demand. YouTube advertisements rose by 49 per cent to $US6.01 billion for the quarter. The share price rose over 4 per cent in after-hours trade. Shares in Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ: GOOGL) closed (not the after-hours trade numbers) at 0.82 per cent lower at $US2,290.98.

IPOs

Today Australasian Gold (ASX:A8G) and mining exploration company Black Canyon (ASX:BCA) are pencilled in to make their debut today on the ASX.

Currencies

One Australian Dollar at 7:55 AM was buying 77.75 US cents, 55.94 Pence Sterling, 84.51 Yen and 64.31 Euro cents.

Commodities

Iron Ore has gained 0.9 per cent to US$195.31
Iron Ore futures are pointing to 1.5 per cent loss.
Gold has lost $1.30 to US$1779 an ounce.
Silver had gained $0.20 to US$26.45 an ounce.
Oil was up $1.03 to US$62.94 a barrel.
 
Copyright 2021 – Finance News Network


Source: Finance News Network

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