As the year draws to an end, the Australian share market will open lower, following weak leads from overseas.
US equities finished lower this morning – with Utilities stocks among the best performers, while Financials were the worst performer.
Wall Street’s finished lower after it was announced that the US has placed sanctions on Russia for its alleged hacking and interference during the US election. Nine entities and individuals were sanctioned – including two Russian intelligence agencies. The US also expelled 35 Russian diplomats and shut down two Russian compounds on American soil.
US economic newsJobless claims fell by 10,000 to 265,000, according to the Labor Department. This is the 95th straight week that jobless claims were below 300,000, which is seen as a sign of a healthy labor market.
MarketsWall Street finished lower this morning: The Dow Jones lost 0.1% to close at 19,820, the S&P 500 was flat at 2,249, while the NASDAQ was down 0.1% to close at 5,432.
European markets finished mostly lower: London’s FTSE gained 0.2%, while Paris and Frankfurt both lost 0.2%.
Asian markets finished mixed: the Nikkei fell 1.3% (which is a near three-week low), the Hang Seng gained 0.2%, while the Shanghai Composite was down 0.2%.
As for the Australian share market, it finished higher yesterday, up 14 points at 5,699. On the futures market, the SPI is down 16 points.
CurrenciesAt 8.30am, the Australian Dollar is buying $US0.7217, 58.84 Pence, 84.18 Yen and 68.82 Euro cents.
Ex-dividendsA number of companies are going ex-dividend today:
Aurora Absolute
(ASX:ABW) will pay an unfranked dividend of 0.84 cents per share.
Aurora Global Income Trust
(ASX:AIB) will pay an unfranked dividend of 1.53 cents.
Aurora Dividend Income Trust
(ASX:AOD) will pay an unfranked dividend of 0.35 cents.
Aurora Property
(ASX:AUP) will pay an unfranked dividend of 10.9 cents.
CommoditiesGold is up $19.10 to $US1,160 an ounce.
Silver has gained $0.18 to $16.22.
Copper is flat at $2.49 per pound.
Oil is up 4 cents to US$53.81 per barrel.
