US-China trade deal hits another barrier: Aus shares set to open higher
Australian shares are set to open higher following positive leads from Wall Street. US stocks advanced overnight, plateauing just under all-time highs as the US-China trade war reportedly hits another barrier – this time over farm purchases. All of this, as the public hearings in President Trump’s impeachment inquiry continue. On the commodities front, oil rose 46 cents overnight as the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (or OPEC) projected a potential upswing in the forecast for demand growth due to a potential reduction in supply from outside of the group.
Local economic news
The Australian Bureau of Statistics will release Labour Force figures for October 2019. NAB projects "a tick back up in the unemployment rate from 5.2 to 5.3 per cent for the period”.
Markets
Wall Street closed mixed yesterday: The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 0.3 per cent higher at 27,784, the S&P 500 closed 0.1 per cent higher at 3094 and the NASDAQ shed 0.1 per cent to 8482.
European markets closed lower: London’s FTSE lost 0.2 per cent, Paris also fell 0.2 per cent and Frankfurt closed 0.4 per cent lower.
Asian markets closed lower: Tokyo’s Nikkei lost 0.9 per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng dropped 1.8 per cent and China’s Shanghai Composite fell 0.3 per cent.
Taking all of this into equation, the SPI futures are pointing to a 0.3 per cent gain. Yesterday, the Australian share market closed 55 points or 0.8 per cent lower at 6698.
Company news
Heartland Bank and Turners Automotive Group (ASX:TRA) have struck a deal. The deal will allow Autosure Insurance products to be sold through Heartland’s MARAC consumer intermediary network. The strategic distribution agreement will begin in mid-December. It will increase Autosure’s distribution network by approximately 20 per cent and is forecast to generate $2 million of additional revenue per annum for Autosure. Shares in Turners Automotive Group Ltd (ASX:TRA) last traded at $2.20 on the 11th of November.
Ex-dividends
Acorn Capital Investment Fund (ASX:ACQ) is paying 3.5 cents fully franked
National Australia Bank (ASX:NAB) is paying 83 cents fully franked
Plato Inc Max (ASX:PL8) is paying 0.5 cents fully franked
Retech Technology Co (ASX:RTE) is paying 0.5 cents unfranked
Sandfire Resources (ASX:SFR) is paying 16 cents fully franked
Currencies
One Australian Dollar at 8:20 AM was buying 68.36 US cents, 53.21 Pence Sterling, 74.38 Yen and 62.13 Euro cents.
Commodities
Iron Ore is 0.6 per cent lower at US$81.03.
Iron Ore futures suggest a 0.7 per cent fall.
Gold has added $10.50 to US$1464 an ounce.
Silver has gained 22 cents to US$16.91 an ounce.
Oil has risen 46 cents to US$57.31 a barrel.
Copyright 2019 – Finance News Network
Source: Finance News Network
