Trump impeachment vote underway: ASX poised to open higher
The Australian share market looks set to open higher this morning as Wall Street closed mixed. US President Donald Trump is on the verge of a second impeachment after the Capitol siege. The debate has now ended and the House is due to make a vote over the next few hours. Thousands of troops have been sent to Washington to guard against further attacks by supporters of Trump. Back home, state health authorities are searching for residents who had quarantined at the Brisbane Grand Chancellor hotel where two people were found to have the highly infectious UK strain.
Markets
Wall Street closed mixed yesterday: The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed flat at 31060, the S&P 500 gained 0.23 per cent to 3810 and the NASDAQ closed 0.4 per cent higher at 13129.
European markets closed mixed, London’s FTSE lost 0.1 per cent, Paris added 0.2 per cent and Frankfurt closed 0.1 per cent higher.
Asian markets closed mixed, Tokyo’s Nikkei gained 1.04 per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng shed 0.2 per cent and China’s Shanghai Composite closed 0.3 per cent lower.
Taking all of this into equation, the SPI futures are pointing to a 0.1 per cent rise.
Yesterday, the Australian share market closed 0.1 per cent higher at 6687.
Company news
Meridian Energy (ASX:MEZ) confirms that global mining giant Rio Tinto has accepted new contract terms offered by Meridian to delay the closure of its Tiwai Point aluminium smelter until 2024. Meridian Chief Executive, Neal Barclay says, they are pleased that Rio Tinto has accepted this offer, which will now provide certainty for the Southland community in New Zealand. Shares in Meridian Energy (ASX:MEZ) closed 4.42 per cent lower at $7.36 yesterday.
Ex-Dividends
Abacus Property Group (ASX:ABP) is paying 8.5 cents unfranked
Currencies
One Australian Dollar at 7:45 AM was buying 77.39 US cents, 56.82 Pence Sterling, 80.39 Yen and 63.68 Euro cents.
Commodities
Gold has gained $8.30 to US $1853 an ounce.
Silver was up $0.01 to US $25.45 an ounce.
Oil was up $0.07 to US $51.02 a barrel.
Iron Ore futures suggest 0.9 per cent fall.
Copyright 2021 – Finance News Network
Source: Finance News Network
