Wall Street rallies on news US will remove currency manipulator tag from China: Aus shares to open higher

The Australian share market is set to edge higher following a rally on Wall Street on the back of reports the US will remove China from a list of currency manipulating countries. The news has lifted investor optimism ahead of the signing of a key trade agreement on Wednesday. Investors are also eagerly awaiting the start of earnings season tomorrow. The S&P 500 hit a record high lifted by the tech and real estate and materials sectors, which advanced at least 1.3 per cent each. Apple shares also rose 2.1 per cent to hit a record high. Meantime Oil prices dropped by more than 1 per cent on Monday as Middle East tensions eased and investors turned their focus to weak seasonal demand following last week’s bearish U.S. report showing a large fuel stockbuild.

Markets

Wall Street closed higher: The Dow Jones Industrial Average up 0.3 per cent to close at 28,907, the S&P 500 gained 0.7 per cent to close at 3,288 and the NASDAQ rose 1 per cent to close at 9,274.

European markets closed mixed: London’s FTSE rose 0.4 per cent, Paris lost 0.02 per cent and Frankfurt was down about 0.2 per cent.

Asian markets closed higher: Tokyo’s Nikkei closed for pubic holiday and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng closed 1.1 per cent higher China’s Shanghai Composite was 0.8 per cent higher

Taking all of this into equation, the SPI futures are pointing to a 32 point rise. Yesterday the Australian share market closed lower with the S&P/ASX 200 Index closing 25 points lower or 0.4 per cent down at 6,904.

Company News

Air New Zealand (ASX:AIZ) has today announced Chief People Officer Jodie King will be leaving the company to take up a new role with Vodafone New Zealand. The airline company says Jodie will work with Greg Foran to ensure a smooth transition occurs and a strong appointment to the Chief People Officer role is made. She will leave by the end of the financial year. Shares in AIr New Zealand (ASX:AIZ) closed 0.3 per cent lower at $2.89 yesterday.

Currencies

One Australian Dollar at 8:30AM was buying 69.03 US cents, 53.15 Pence Sterling, 75.89 Yen and 62.00 Euro cents.

Commodities

Iron ore is trading $2.01 higher at 95.93. Its futures rise of 0.8 per cent.
Gold has lost $10.40 to US$1,550 an ounce.
Silver has shed 11 cents to US$18.00 an ounce.
Oil has fallen by 91 cents to US$58.08 a barrel.
 
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Source: Finance News Network