Oil worries weigh on Wall St: ASX to slip on open

Market Reports

by Jessica Ellerm

 
Following negative leads the Australian share market looks set to open lower. US markets fell on Friday, the energy sector leading the decline as oil prices headed south. Oversupply is the biggest concern weighing on the market, with Saudi Arabia and Iran holding out on an agreement to freeze production. The two nations will continue talks this week at an OPEC meeting in Algiers.  
 
US economic news

Markit’s Manufacturing Flash PMI read dropped for September, coming in 51.4, below the August read of 52.0.    
 
Markets
 
Wall Street closed lower on Friday: The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.7 per cent to close at 18,261, the S&P 500 fell 0.6 per cent to close at 2,165 and the NASDAQ dropped 0.6 per cent to close at 5,306.
 
European markets closed lower: London’s FTSE was down 0.03 per cent, Paris dipped 0.5 per cent and Frankfurt fell 0.4 per cent.
 
Asian markets closed lower: Tokyo’s Nikkei dropped 0.3 per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 0.3 per cent, and China’s Shanghai Composite was also down 0.3 per cent.
 
The Australian share market closed higher on Friday: The S&P/ASX 200 Index closed 57 points up to finish at 5,431. The market was up 135 points on the week. On the futures market the SPI is 24 points down. 

Currencies

The Australian Dollar at 7:20AM was buying $US76.20 cents, 58.78 Pence Sterling, 76.95 Yen and 67.89 Euro cents.
 
Company news
 
Elders Limited (ASX:ELD) has announced it will acquire a 30 percent equity interest in StockCo’s Australian business. StockCo is a specialist livestock funding provider and is the largest specialist livestock financier in both Australia and New Zealand. The deal is subject to final contract negotiations, with Elders expecting to finalise the transaction in October of this year. Shares in Elders Limited closed 0.52 per cent up on Friday at $3.84
 
Gazal Corporation Limited (ASX:GZL) has announced substantial changes to its share register following the decision of Non-Executive Director Richard Gazal to sell down his stake in the business. PVH Corporation, the name behind global brands such as Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger, will take a 10% stake in the business, while Harvey Norman Holdings Limited will increase their holding to 7.2 percent. Shares in Gazal Corporation Limited closed steady on Friday at $2.48. 

Ex-dividends

1 company is going ex-dividend today: IMF Bentham (ASX:IMF) will pay 7.5 cents fully franked. 
 
Commodities

Gold has fallen $3.00 to $US1,342 an ounce for the December contract on Comex.
Silver has dropped $0.29 to $19.81 for December.
Copper has risen $0.01 to $2.20 a pound for December.
Oil has slid $1.84 to $US44.48 a barrel for November light crude in New York.

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