The Australian share market will open lower this morning, following weak leads from US equity markets which are gearing up for the start of earnings season.
This morning, the Nasdaq closed at a new record high, thanks to technology shares like Apple (which were amongst the stronger performers). However, sharp falls in financials and utilities stocks dragged down the S&P 500 and Dow Jones, which has retreated further away from the 20,000 points mark.
Also, the price of oil fell by more than 3% overnight, which weighed down the Energy companies, and also impacted the American stock market’s performance.
US economic newsThe Federal Reserve has released its latest consumer credit data figures. In November 2016, consumer credit expanded at an annual rate of 8%, or $24.6 billion, well above economists’ expectations. Revolving credit, such as credit cards, rose 13.5% while non-revolving credit such as car and student loans were up 5.9%.
MarketsWall Street finished mixed overnight: The Dow Jones lost 0.4% to close at 19,887, the S&P 500 was 0.4% lower at 2,269, while the NASDAQ rose 0.2% to close at 5,532.
European markets also finished mixed: London’s FTSE was up 0.4%, Paris lost 0.5%, while Frankfurt slipped 0.3%.
Asian markets were mixed as well: the Nikkei was down 0.3%, the Hang Seng was up 0.25%, while the Shanghai Composite gained 0.5%.
The Australian share market finished stronger yesterday, with the ASX 200 closing 52 points higher at 5,807. This morning, on the futures market the SPI is down 21 points.
CurrenciesThe Australian Dollar at 8.45am is buying 73.54 US cents, 60.5 Pence, 85.37 Yen and 69.57 Euro cents.
Local economic newsThe Australian Bureau of Statistics will release its retail sales figures for November 2016.
Company newsSirtex Medical Ltd
(ASX:SRX) has announced its unaudited worldwide dose sales of its SIR-Spheres Y-90 resin microspheres rose 5.6% for the half year ending 31 December 2016 (compared to the previous corresponding period). The company’s microspheres are used for interventional oncology, or cancer treatment. The company says it will report its first half financial results on 22 February 2017. Yesterday, shares in Sirtex closed 1.65% higher at $15.40.
CommoditiesGold is up $8.80 to $US1,182 an ounce.
Silver has gained 9 cents to $16.61.
Copper is 1 cent lower at $2.53.
Oil is down $1.96 to US$51.80 per barrel.
