Wall St rises on trade optimism: Aus shares to edge higher, RBA meeting ahead

The local sharemarket is poised to edge higher this morning following a solid session in the US on Monday. Stocks were bolstered by optimism around U.S.-China trade talks. Tech was among the best-performing sectors in the S&P 500, advancing 1.1 per cent as Apple shares rose 2.4 per cent following a price-target increase by an analyst at J.P. Morgan. Meantime, US trade negotiator Peter Navarro labelled reports that the White House was considering the delisting of Chinese companies from US stock exchanges as "fake news."

Global oil prices fell by 2-3 per cent on Monday as concerns about supply disruptions following the drone attack on Saudi Arabian production facilities eased. Saudi production has come back on-line more quickly than expected.

Local economic news

Today the Reserve Bank hands down its monthly interest rate decision. The market is expecting the cash rate to be cut by 25 basis points to 0.75 per cent. Federal treasurer Josh Frydenberg has made clear he expects the banks to pass on any cut in official interest rates. Also out today, AiGroup and the Commonwealth Bank release separate survey results of purchasing managers and the ABS releases August data on building approvals.

Markets

Wall Street closed higher yesterday: The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.4 per cent to close at 26,917, the S&P 500 closed 0.5 per cent higher at 2977 and the NASDAQ added 0.8 per cent to 7999.

European markets closed mixed: London’s FTSE lost 0.2 per cent, Paris added 0.7 per cent and Frankfurt added 0.4 per cent.

Asian markets closed mixed: Tokyo’s Nikkei fell 0.6 per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was up 0.5 per cent and China’s Shanghai Composite closed 0.9 per cent lower.

Taking all of this into equation, the SPI futures are pointing to a 0.1 per cent gain.

Yesterday, the Australian share market closed 28 points or 0.4 per cent lower at 6688.

Company news

Coles (ASX:COL) has strengthened its partnership with online marketplace eBay, allowing shoppers to get food delivered to their door. Shoppers can now choose from a wide range of fresh and frozen food, in addition to the thousands of everyday essentials already available across a variety of categories including pantry, beauty and household items. Coles says by enhancing its partnership with eBay, it's enabling anytime, anywhere shopping, providing customers another convenient way to access products and have them delivered straight to their door at a time that works for them. Shares in Coles Group (ASX:COL) closed 0.85 per cent higher at $15.40 yesterday.

Ex – Dividend

Evans Dixon (ASX:ED1) is paying 3 cents fully franked
ICSGlobal Limited (ASX:ICS) is paying 4.5 cents unfranked
Imperial Pacific Ltd (ASX:IPC) is paying 6.25 cents fully franked
London City Equities Limited (ASX:LCE) is paying 1.375 cents fully franked
NB Global Corporate Income Trust (ASX:NBI) is paying 0.8991 cents unfranked

Currencies

One Australian Dollar at 7:40 AM was buying 67.51 US cents, 54.95 Pence Sterling, 72.99 Yen and 61.97 Euro cents.

Commodities

Iron Ore has added 2.8 per cent to US$93.38.
Iron Ore futures suggest a 2.5 per cent gain.
Gold has dropped $28.10 to US$1478 an ounce.
Silver has lost $0.62 cents to US$17.04 an ounce.
Oil has fallen $1.67 to US$54.24 a barrel.

Source: Finance News Network