Following negative leads, the Australian share market looks set for a shaky start. Wall Street was an U.S. election casualty on Friday, ending the day down across the board. The markets were spooked following news the FBI had uncovered new emails in the Hillary Clinton email saga, this time on the laptop of disgraced politician Anthony Weiner. It’s a late blow to the Democratic nominee’s campaign, with just over a week until voters head to the polls. The news could see global markets in for a volatile week, as investors ponder just which way the country will swing.
U.S. economic news The U.S. economy had a growth spurt in the third quarter, expanding at an annualized rate of 2.9 percent. The number was a significant jump on the prior quarter, which recorded a 1.4 percent increase. The Employment Cost Index, a measure of the growth in employee compensation, came in at 0.60 percent for the third quarter of 2016, in line with expectations.
MarketsWall Street closed lower on Friday: The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.1 per cent to close at 18,161, the S&P 500 fell 0.3 per cent to close at 2,126 and the NASDAQ dropped 0.5 per cent to close at 5,190.
European markets closed mixed: London’s FTSE gained 0.1 per cent, Paris rose 0.3 per cent and Frankfurt slipped 0.2 per cent.
Asian markets closed mixed: Tokyo’s Nikkei added 0.6 per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 0.8 per cent, and China’s Shanghai Composite lost 0.3 per cent.
The Australian share market closed lower on Friday: The S&P/ASX 200 Index closed 12 points down to finish at 5,284. On the futures market the SPI is 3 points down.
CurrenciesThe Australian Dollar at 7:30AM was buying $US75.87 cents, 62.42 Pence Sterling, 79.25 Yen and 69.04 Euro cents.
Economic newsDue out today from the Reserve Bank of Australia is private sector credit data for September. The Melbourne Institute will also release its monthly inflation gauge.
Company NewsSpeedCast International Limited
(ASX:SDA) has signed a deal with Ericsson to provide communication services to the maritime sector. The company has been selected by Ericsson as its satellite connectivity solution partner, with both Ericsson and SpeedCast aiming to work together to provide seamless communication between ship and shore. The partnership will deliver economies of scale to Ericsson and allow SpeedCast to explore new business models. Shares in SpeedCast closed 0.25 per cent lower on Friday at $3.95.
Mirvac Group
(ASX:MGR) has announced it has entered into an agreement with PAYCE Consolidated to acquire a 50 percent stake in a yet to be built shopping centre in NSW. The 25,000 square metre development is mixed-use and includes scope for around 750 residential lots. Mirvac will provide development leasing services and retail design management prior to completion of works and will retain management rights and leasing services post build. Shares in Mirvac Group closed 0.49 per cent up on Friday at $2.05.
Ex-dividends2 companies are going ex-dividend today: Freedom Foods Group Limited
(ASX:FNP) will pay 2.25 cents fully franked and Harvey Norman Holdings Limited
(ASX:HVN) will pay 17 cents fully franked.
Commodities Gold has risen $6.50 to $US1,276 an ounce for the December contract on Comex.
Silver has added $0.12 to $17.75 for December.
Copper has gained $0.03 to $2.20 a pound for December.
Oil has fallen $1.06 to $US48.66 a barrel for December light crude in New York.
