The Australian share market will open flat today following mixed leads from Wall Street.
US equities finished mixed this morning, with technology and financials stocks being the top performers. On the flip side, the biggest losses came from the telecoms and energy sectors.
This morning, Janet Yellen, the chair of the Federal Reserve, said in a speech that the US economy is close to being able to run on its own without needing the Fed to provide support with aggressive easing measures. Economists are expecting at least two rate hikes in the US this year.
US economic newsAccording to the latest Bureau of Labor Statistics data, the Consumer Price Index rose 0.3 percent in December compared to the previous month (November), which was in line with economist’s expectations. Year-on-year, this is 2.1% increase, and the biggest rise for the CPI since June 2014.
The Federal Reserve released data showing that industrial production rose 0.8% in December, which was higher than expected. However, in the fourth quarter, overall industrial production fell at an annual rate of 6.6%.
Local economic newsLater today, the ABS will release employment figures for December. We’ll update you once they’re released.
MarketsWall Street closed mixed this morning: The Dow Jones lost 0.1 per cent to 19,805, the S&P 500 advanced 0.2 per cent to 2,272 and the NASDAQ was up 0.3 per cent to 5,556.
European markets also finished mixed: London’s FTSE gained 0.4 per cent, Paris slipped 0.1 per cent and Frankfurt added 0.5 per cent.
Asian markets were higher: Tokyo’s Nikkei gained 0.4 per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 1.1 per cent, and China’s Shanghai Composite was up 0.1 per cent.
And back home, the Australian share market finished lower yesterday: The S&P/ASX 200 Index closed 21 points down to finish at 5,679. On the futures market the SPI is 8 points higher.
Company newsMaxiTRANS Industries
(ASX:MXI), which is a company that supplies road transport trailing equipment solutions, has announced its managing director, Michael Brokhoff, will retire from the company. Brokhoff has been the MD since 2000, and the company is currently looking for a replacement MD. Yesterday, shares in MaxiTRANS were trading 8.11% higher at 60 cents.
Ex-dividendsOne company is going ex-dividend today: Viva Energy REIT
(ASX:VVR) will pay an unfranked dividend of 5.28 cents.
CurrenciesThe Australian Dollar at 8:40AM was buying $US0.7508, 61.26 Pence Sterling, 86.09 Yen and 70.64 Euro cents.
CommoditiesGold has lost $13.10 to $US1,203 an ounce.
Silver has slipped by 7 cents to $17.07 an ounce.
Oil has fallen $1.08 to $US52.18 a barrel.
