The Australian share market looks like it will open steady. ASX futures have not gone up by very much this morning, but the Australianmarket might follow a positive lead from the US.
Wall Street finished higher on Monday, despite half of its indexes closing in the red. Overall, the New York stock exchange was boosted by a rally in technology shares, and Bank of America declaring better-than-expected earnings. News of the Bank’s strong performance helped boost the S&P 500 by 0.4 percent.
US economic newsHomebuilder confidence fell in July, dropping 1 point (from 60 to 59), according to the latest monthly data from the National Association of Home Builders. A reading above 50 is considered positive sentiment, so the US construction industry is still in the stage of slow recovery.
MarketsWall Street closed higher on Monday: The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.1 per cent to close at 18,533, the S&P 500 gained 0.2 per cent to close at 2,167 and the NASDAQ gained 0.5 per cent to close at 5,056.
European markets finished mixed: London’s FTSE was up 0.4%, Paris was down 0.3 per cent and Frankfurt was down 0.04 per cent.
Asian markets closed mixed as well: Tokyo’s Nikkei was closed, the Hang Seng gained 0.7 per cent, and the Shanghai Composite was down 0.4 per cent.
The Australian share market closed higher yesterday: The ASX 200 closed 29 points higher to finish at 5,458. On the futures market the SPI is up 1 point.
CurrenciesThe Australian Dollar at 7:30AM was buying $US75.81 cents, 57.23 Pence, 80.51 Yen and 68.46 Euro cents.
Economic newsLater today, the Reserve Bank will release its monetary policy meeting minutes.
Company newsThe class action brought by former Zinifex shareholders against OZ Minerals Limited
(ASX:OZL), following the merger between Zinifex and Oxiana, has officially settled. Yesterday, the Federal Court granted approval to the settlement.
Shares in OZ Minerals closed 1.86% lower, and last traded at $6.87.
The Todd Corporation’s proposed takeover of iron ore mining company, Flinders Mines Ltd
(ASX:FMS) is still ongoing. The Todd Corporation has extended the offer period for its takeover bid, and the offer will now close on 8 August.
Shares in Flinders Mines closed steady at 2.5 cents.
CommoditiesGold has gained $1.70 to $US1,329 an ounce for the August contract on Comex.
Silver has lost $0.05 to $20.11 for September.
Copper is up 1 cent at $2.24 cents a pound for September.
Oil is down $0.74 to $45.91 USD per barrel for August light crude in New York.
