Following weak leads from overseas markets, the Australian share market looks set to open lower this morning. Wall Street reversed its early gains in the afternoon, as investors remained skittish about the state of China’s economy.
US economic news
it’s looking less likely the Fed will hike interest rates in September, according to the minutes from the latest Federal Reserve Meeting. Policymakers at the U.S central banks Open Market Committee agreed that economic conditions hadn’t been achieved and more information was needed before raising rates. There’s now speculation that the first rate hike will come in December.
Meantime, US consumer prices have risen for a sixth straight month by 0.1 per cent, indicating inflation pressure may be building. However, many analysts believe that mild inflation pressure is unlikely to deter the Fed from raising interest rates.
Global markets
Wall Street closed lower yesterday: The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.9 per cent to close at 17,349, the S&P 500 lost 0.8 per cent to close at 2,080 and the NASDAQ retreated 0.8 per cent to close at 5,019.
European markets closed lower: London’s FTSE lost 1.9 per cent, Paris slid 1.8 per cent and Frankfurt tumbled 2.1 per cent.
Asian markets closed mixed: Tokyo’s Nikkei lost 1.6 per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was down 1.3 per cent, and China’s Shanghai Composite gained 1.2 per cent.
The Australian share market closed higher yesterday: The S&P/ASX 200 Index closed up 77 points to finish at 5,380. On the futures market the SPI is down 48 points.
Currencies
The Australian Dollar at 7:20AM was buying 73.53 US cents, 46.89 Pence Sterling, 91.07 Yen and 66.12 Euro cents.
Company news
Recall Holdings Limited (ASX: REC) has reported a 55 per cent surge in net profit to $US65 billion. The data storage giant has embarked on an aggressive acquisition campaign and agreed to a $2.73 billion takeover offer from Iron Mountain in June. The company will pay a final dividend of 10 cents per share a share, a 25 per cent increase on last year. Shares in Recall Holdings Limited closed 1.15 per cent higher yesterday at $7.03.
Donaco International Limited
(ASX:DNA)has signed an exclusive sponsorship agreement with the Manchester United Football Club. The three year deal sees Donaco appointed as the exclusive casino resort partner of Manchester United in 6 Asian countries including Thailand and South Korea. Shares in Donaco International Limited closed 0.74 per cent higher yesterday at 68.5 cents.
Ex-dividends
One company is going ex-dividend today: CSG Limited
(ASX:CSV) will pay an unfranked final dividend of 5 cents.
Commodities
Gold has gained $16.70 to $US1,1134 an ounce for the December contract on Comex.
Silver has gained 49 cents to $15.32 for September.
Copper has lost 1 cent to $2.27 a pound.
Oil has lost $2.17 to $40.95 a barrel for September light crude in New York.
