Uncertainty over US stimulus sinks stocks: ASX poised to open lower

 

The Australian share market looks set to open lower this morning after a sharp sell-off in the US. There’s concern over the lack of certainty over plans for the fiscal stimulus to support the unemployed. Oracle’s agreement to take a stake in TikTok has won the blessing of US President Donald Trump. The proposal still needs approval from regulators in China, where TikTok’s parent ByteDance is based. The Australian dollar had dropped to 72.25 US cents.

Local Economic News

The Australian Bureau of Statistics will release figures for Weekly Payroll Jobs and Wages in Australia, RBA Deputy Governor Guy Debelle speaks on ‘The Australian economy and monetary policy’ at 10.30am AEST

Markets

Wall Street closed lower yesterday: The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 1.8 per cent lower at 27,148, the S&P 500 lost 1.2 per cent to 3281 and the NASDAQ fell 0.1 per cent to 10,779.

European markets closed lower: London’s FTSE lost 3.4 per cent, Paris fell 3.7 per cent and Frankfurt was down 4.4 per cent.

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

Taking all of this into equation, the SPI futures are pointing to 57 points fall.

Yesterday, the Australian share market closed 0.7 per cent lower at 5823.

Company news

Pushpay Holdings (ASX:PPH) has appointed Lorraine Witten as a Director by the Pushpay Board effective today. Lorraine will hold office until Pushpay’s next Annual Meeting, at which point she will stand for election by shareholders. Lorraine will join as Chair of Pushpay’s ‘Audit and Risk Management Committee’ and as a member of Pushpay’s ‘Nominations and Remuneration Committee’. Shares in Pushpay Holdings (ASX:PPH) closed 2.6 per cent lower at $7.11 yesterday.

Ex-dividends

Carsales.Com Ltd (ASX:CAR) is paying 25 cents fully franked
Kelly Partners Group (ASX:KPG) is paying 1.33 cents fully franked
Monash Absolute (ASX:MA1) is paying 1 cent fully franked
PSC Insurance Ltd (ASX:PSI) is paying 5.5 cents fully franked

Currencies

One Australian Dollar at 7:45 AM was buying 72.25 US cents, 56.40 Pence Sterling, 75.64 Yen and 61.41 Euro cents.

Commodities

Iron Ore has lost 4.1 per cent to US$119.82.
Iron Ore futures are down 2.1 per cent.
Gold has lost $45 to US$1918 an ounce.
Silver has shed $2.33 to US$24.80 an ounce.
Oil has lost $1.52 to US$39.59 a barrel.
 
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Source: Finance News Network