Wall Street sees declines: ASX poised to open lower

Following weak leads from US markets, the Australian share market looks set to open lower this morning as US stocks saw declines. The losses ended three days of rises on Wall Street, boosted by US jobs report beating analysts expectations. The Federal Reserve’s Federal Open Market Committee starts its two-day policy meeting today where interest rates are expected to be held after rates were cut three times in a row this year over in the US. Monday’s session the US was also affected by the prospect of a trade agreement with China, just a week away before the US is set to impose more tariffs.

Local economic news

RBA governor Lowe speech A Payments System for the Digital Economy
ABS Residential Property Price Indexes: Eight Capital Cities, September 2019.

Markets

Wall Street closed lower yesterday: The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 0.4 per cent lower at 27,910, the S&P 500 lost 0.3 per cent to 3136 and the NASDAQ fell 0.4 per cent to 8622.

European markets closed lower: London’s FTSE lost 0.1 per cent, Paris fell 0.6 per cent and Frankfurt dipped 0.5 per cent.

Asian markets closed mixed: Tokyo’s Nikkei added 0.3 per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 0.01 per cent and China’s Shanghai Composite closed 0.1 per cent higher.

Taking all of this into equation, the SPI futures are pointing to a 0.21 per cent fall.

Yesterday, the Australian share market closed 23 points or 0.3 per cent higher at 6730.

Company news

Tower Insurance (ASX:TWR) has started its search for a new CEO after it confirmed that Richard Harding will not extend his contract past next year.
Harding said it was timely to signal his departure as the company implemented a new platform operating model as part of its digitisation strategy.
"The company is transitioning toward a platform operating model that will accelerate its strategy to deliver growth and reduce expenses.
Shares in Tower Insurance (ASX:TWR) closed 4.3 per cent higher at $0.73 yesterday.

Ex-Dividends

Konekt Limited (ASX:KKT) is paying 5 cents fully franked.

Currencies

One Australian Dollar at 8:30 AM was buying 68.30 US cents, 51.96 Pence Sterling, 74.19 Yen and 61.75 Euro cents.

Commodities

Iron Ore has gained 5.5 per cent to US$93.93.
Iron Ore futures suggest a 2.4 per cent gain.
Gold has gained $0.10 to US$1465 an ounce.
Silver has added $0.04 to US$16.64 an ounce.
Oil has fallen $0.23 to US$58.97 a barrel.

Source: Finance News Network