It looks like the Australian share market will open higher today, following a positive lead from the US.
Last week was an abysmal week for Wall Street, but it did manage to close higher on Monday. It appears US investors are breathing a sigh of relief as the latest opinion polls show Britain is more likely to stay in the European Union after this Thursday’s referendum. Also, the price of US crude oil futures increased, which bolstered the performance of Energy shares.
MarketsWall Street closed higher on Monday: The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.7 per cent to close at 17,805, the S&P 500 gained 0.6 per cent to close at 2,083 and the NASDAQ gained 0.8 per cent to close at 4,837.
European markets closed stronger: London’s FTSE gained 3 per cent, Paris rose 3.5 per cent and Frankfurt lifted 3.4 per cent.
Asian markets closed up: Tokyo’s Nikkei added 2.3 per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was up 1.7 per cent, and China’s Shanghai Composite gained 0.1 per cent.
The Australian share market closed higher yesterday: The S&P/ASX 200 Index closed 94 points up to finish at 5,257. On the futures market the SPI is up 24 points.
CurrenciesThe Australian Dollar at 7:30AM was buying $US74.62 cents, 50.91 Pence Sterling, 77.56 Yen and 65.95 Euro cents.
Economic newsThe Reserve Bank will release its latest meeting minutes later today, and the ABS will release its latest housing price data.
Company newsGrowthpoint Properties Australia Ltd
(ASX:GOZ) is set to acquire a commercial building in South Melbourne for $166 million. Settlement will occur in 5 business days, and the building’s current tenants include ANZ Bank and BMW.
Shares in Growthpoint closed steady at $3.30.
Highfield Resources Ltd
(ASX:HFR) has appointed a new Managing Director and CEO. The company says that Peter Albert will assume both these roles from 1 September 2016. This appointment comes as the company moves towards the construction phase of its Muga Potash Mine in Spain.
Shares in Highfield closed1.31 percent lower at $1.50.
CommoditiesGold has dropped $2.70 to $US1,292 an ounce for the August contract on Comex.
Silver has gained $0.11 to $17.52 for July.
Copper is up 4 cents to $2.09 cents a pound for July.
Oil is up $1.28 to $US49.84 a barrel for July light crude in New York.
