The Australian share market looks set to open flat today, following weak leads.
In the US, the Dow Jones experienced its eighth straight day of gains. However, the other two Wall Street indexes were down as investors digested mixed earnings reports. For example, Netflix shares dropped 14% due to lower than expected subscriber growth. Furthermore, 8 out of 10 industry sectors finished in the red.
Also contributing to the reduced optimism is the IMF announcing that it has lowered its global economic growth outlook. The IMF says the future effects of Britain leaving the European Union remain “exceptionally uncertain”.
US economic newsThe Department of Commerce has released some healthy housing and construction data. New-home construction was higher than expected in June. Residential starts climbed 4.8 percent to a 1.19 million annualized rate, which was the highest increase since February.
Also, the number of building permits, issued in June, rose by climbed 1.5 percent to a 1.15 million annualized rate, in line with forecasts.
MarketsWall Street closed mixed on Tuesday: The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.1 per cent to close at 18,559, the S&P 500 lost 0.1 per cent to close at 2,164 and the NASDAQ is down 0.4 per cent to close at 5,036.
European markets finished mixed: London’s FTSE was flat, Paris was down 0.6 per cent and Frankfurt was down 0.8 per cent.
Asian markets closed mixed as well: Nikkei was up 1.4 per cent, the Hang Seng lost 0.6 per cent, and the Shanghai Composite was down 0.2 per cent.
The Australian share market closed lower yesterday: The ASX 200 closed 7 points lower to finish at 5,451. On the futures market the SPI is up 1 point.
CurrenciesThe Australian Dollar at 7:30AM was buying $US75.06 cents, 57.31 Pence, 79.64 Yen and 68.13 Euro cents.
Ccompany newsRio Tinto Ltd
(ASX:RIO) has released its second quarter production results. The company says that there were production increases across the board – with a rise in all segments, except for coking coal. Rio Tinto says it experienced an 8% increase in iron ore production for the second quarter of this year, compared to the same period last year.
Shares in Rio Tinto closed 2.29% lower at $48.99.
Altona Mining Ltd
(ASX:AOH) says that it has received an Amended Environmental Authority from the Queensland government in relation to its Cloncurry Copper Project. The grant of this amendment was a key condition precedent to the completion of Altona’s joint venture with the Sichuan Railway Investment Group for this project.
Shares in Altona Mining closed 3.45% higher at 15 cents.
CommoditiesGold has gained $3 to $US1,332 an ounce for the August contract on Comex.
Silver has lost $0.07 to $20.01 for September.
Copper is down 1 cent at $2.26 cents a pound for September.
Oil is down $0.49 to $45.45 USD per barrel for August light crude in New York.
