Wall St rises on trade talk optimism and earnings: Aus shares to lift at open

The local sharemarket is poised for a positive start following strong leads from Wall Street. US markets closed higher on Monday, boosted by optimism around US-China trade talks and upcoming earnings reports. White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow said that tariffs on China that are scheduled for December could be withdrawn if trade talks continue to go well. Apple was one of the standout performers on the Dow rising by more than 1.5 per cent to a record high after a research analyst upgraded his price target on the tech giant.

Investors are also focused on the earnings seasons with a slew of companies set to report this week including McDonalds, Ford Motor, Caterpillar and Boeing.

Markets

Wall Street closed higher yesterday: The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.2 per cent to close at 26,828, the S&P 500 closed 0.7 per cent higher at 3007 and the NASDAQ gained 0.9 per cent to 8163.

European markets closed higher: London’s FTSE added 0.2 per cent, Paris gained 0.2 per cent and Frankfurt rose 0.9 per cent.

Asian markets closed higher, Tokyo’s Nikkei added 0.3 per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was up 0.02 per cent and China’s Shanghai Composite rose 0.1 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 3 points (0.04%) higher at 6653 yesterday.

Company news

Macquarie Media (ASX:MRN) CEO Adam Lang will depart the company at the end of this week. Macquarie Media Chairman Russell Tate said he and Mr lang have been in discussion for some time about his future opportunities. Tate added there would be “significant change” ahead as the operations of the Macquarie Media radio group are integrated with those of Nine. Shares in Macquarie Media (ASX:MRN) closed flat at $1.45 yesterday.

Ex – Dividend

GBST Holdings (ASX:GBT) is paying 35 cents fully franked

Currencies

One Australian Dollar at 7:40 AM was buying 68.68 US cents, 53 Pence Sterling, 74.59 Yen and 61.60 Euro cents.

Commodities

Iron Ore has lost 1.1 per cent at US$85.40
Iron Ore futures suggest a 0.1 per cent gain.
Gold has lost $7.00 to US$1487 an ounce.
Silver was steady at US$17.58 an ounce.
Oil has fallen $0.34 to US$53.44 a barrel.

Source: Finance News Network