Wall Street eagerly awaits impending US/China trade deal: Aus shares poised to open lower
The Australian share market is poised to open the week lower following a retreat on Wall Street in late trade on Friday. Investors remain wary about the tensions between the US and Iran and are eagerly awaiting the execution of the US/China phase one trade deal later in the week. The major indices in the US suffered on Friday after hiring data fell short of expectations and wage growth was the weakest the market had seen in over a year.
Local economic news
Today we are expecting the Reserve Bank of Australia to release the credit and debit card lending figures for November, and the Melbourne Institute will release its inflation gauge for December. On Tuesday we will see the release of the ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Sentiment figures. Wednesday will be all about construction, as the Australian Bureau of Statistics publishes the September quarter statistics for building activity and engineering construction. On Thursday we will see the Australian home loan figures for November and the ABS will also release the overseas arrivals and departures figures for the month of November.
Markets
Wall Street closed lower: The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.5 per cent to close at 28,824, the S&P 500 lost 0.3 per cent to close at 3,265 and the NASDAQ also lost 0.3 per cent to close at 9,179.
European markets closed lower: London’s FTSE fell 0.1 per cent, Paris lost 0.1 per cent and Frankfurt was also down about 0.1 per cent.
Asian markets closed mixed: Tokyo’s Nikkei and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng managed to buck the trend, the Nikkei gaining 0.5 per cent and the Hang Seng up 0.3 per cent. China’s Shanghai Composite was not so fortunate, inking a 0.1 per cent loss.
Taking all of this into equation, the ASX futures are pointing to a 52 point fall. On Friday the Australian share market closed higher with the S&P/ASX 200 Index closing 55 points higher or 0.8 per cent higher at 6,929.
Company News
Freedom Foods Group (ASX:FNP) has given an update on its ongoing dispute with its US almond supplier, Blue Diamond Growers. The dispute relates to an alleged $7.8 million in unpaid invoices. The Company says that all payments on past shipments have been made. It confirmed that there has been no disruption to the supply of Blue Diamond almond paste. Shares in Freedom Foods Group (ASX:FNP)closed 5.5 per cent higher at $4.95.
Currencies
One Australian Dollar at 7:00AM was buying 68.95 US cents, 52.94 Pence Sterling, 75.47 Yen and 62.03 Euro cents.
Commodities
Gold has gained $5.80 to US$1,560 an ounce.
Silver has gained 17 cents to US$18.11 an ounce.
Oil has fallen by 45 cents to US$58.99 a barrel.
Copyright 2020 – Finance News Network
Source: Finance News Network
