Watershed policy shift for US Fed: Aus shares to open lower
The SPI futures are pointing to a 0.2 per cent fall at the open following mixed results on Wall Street overnight. US Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell announced that the US Fed would adopt a flexible inflation target after years of aiming for less than 2 per cent. The aggressive policy shift aims to improve employment and let inflation rise higher for longer than in the past. This move is expected to keep rates lower for longer. Oil fell as Hurricane Laura disrupted production and refining in the US Gulf. Back home in Australia, the Supreme Court in Brisbane has ordered Indian mining giant Adani to pay a total of more than $100 million to four coal companies after the court determined that the company had engaged in unconscionable conduct in overcharging other coal terminal users at Adani's Abbot Point coal terminal in North Queensland.
Markets
Wall Street closed mixed yesterday: The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.6 per cent, the S&P 500 gained 0.2 per cent and the NASDAQ closed 0.3 per cent lower.
European markets closed lower, London’s FTSE fell 0.8 per cent, Paris was down 0.6 per cent and Frankfurt closed 0.7 per cent lower.
Asian markets closed mixed, Tokyo’s Nikkei fell 0.4 per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng dropped 0.8 per cent and China’s Shanghai Composite closed 0.6 per cent higher.
Taking all of this into equation, the SPI futures are pointing to a 0.2 per cent fall.
Yesterday, the Australian share market closed 0.2 per cent higher at 6126.
Company news
Data centre service provider, NEXTDC (ASX:NXT) has released its financial results for the year ended 30 June 2020. The company made a net loss after tax of $45.2 million. Underlying EBITDA rose 23 per cent to around $105 million – coming in at the lower end of the company’s latest guidance. Total revenue grew 14 per cent to $205 million. This caps a big year for the company which raised a total of $862 million and became a member of the S&P/ASX 100 Index for the first time. The company expects further positive news, estimating data centre revenue in the range of $242 to $250 million for the 2021 financial year; and EBITDA in the range of $125 to $130 million. Shares in NEXTDC (ASX:NXT) closed 1.53 per cent higher at $11.91 yesterday.
Currencies
One Australian Dollar at 6:55 AM was buying 72.59 US cents, 55.01 Pence Sterling, 77.37 Yen and 61.42 Euro cents.
Commodities
Iron Ore lost 1.6 per cent to US$122.22.
Iron Ore futures suggest a 0.1 per cent fall.
Gold has dropped $17.40 to US$1935 an ounce.
Silver was down $0.36 to US$27.25 an ounce.
Oil was down $0.38 to US$43.01 a barrel.
Copyright 2020 – Finance News Network
Source: Finance News Network
