Starbucks shares take a dive despite sales in China improving: ASX set to open higher
Following weak leads from US markets, the Australian share market looks set to open higher this morning. Starbucks Corp. shares fell yesterday after the company missed earnings expectations from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on sales. Th company warned its third quarter results could take an even bigger hit eve as sales in China begin to recover. Technology stocks were the biggest drag on the US market yesterday. Back home, the Federal Government's stimulus payments are having a "profound impact" on Australia's households, with a surge in unemployment payments more than offsetting the fall in income from job losses.
Local economic news
ABS
International Merchandise Trade: Confidential Commodities List, March 2020.
Consumer Price Index, March 2020.
Markets
Wall Street closed lower yesterday: The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.1 per cent to close 24,102 the S&P 500 fell 0.5 per cent to 2863 and the NASDAQ closed 1.4 per cent lower at 8608.
European markets closed higher: London’s FTSE added 1.9 per cent, Paris gained 1.4 per cent and Frankfurt closed 1.3 per cent higher.
Asian markets closed mixed: Tokyo’s Nikkei lost 0.1 per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng added 1.2 per cent and China’s Shanghai Composite fell 0.2 per cent.
Taking all of this into equation, the SPI futures are pointing to a 0.4 per cent gain.
Yesterday, the Australian share market closed 0.2 per cent lower at 5313.
Company news
Zenith Energy (ASX:ZEN) says its core business of supplying power to remote locations has continued, largely unaffected, since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. They are expecting to report underlying EBITDA of approximately $30 million, excluding any costs associated with the proposed Scheme of Arrangement, compared to the previous guidance of $26 million to $27 million. The increase in EBITDA is attributed to increased power consumption at a number of sites, and the commissioning of Jundee Stage 4 and Daisy Milano Stage 3 projects ahead of the scheduled completion time. The Company expects to achieve this improved EBITDA based on annual revenue in the range of $59 million to $60 million, which is below the previous guidance of $62 million to $64 million. Shares in Zenith Energy (ASX:ZEN) closed 0.5 per cent higher at $1.00 yesterday
Currencies
One Australian Dollar at 7:50 AM was buying 64.89 US cents, 52.26 Pence Sterling, 69.34 Yen and 59.99 Euro cents.
Commodities
Iron Ore has lost 1.5 per cent to US$82.20
Iron Ore futures suggest a 1.7 per cent fall.
Gold has added $0.60 to US$1724 an ounce.
Silver has risen $0.01 to US$15.35 an ounce.
Oil was up $0.49 to US$13.27 a barrel.
Copyright 2020 – Finance News Network
Source: Finance News Network
