The Australian share market looks set to push higher at the open, after US stocks closed higher for the week on Friday. The Dow Jones, The S&P and the Nasdaq all posted gains after Federal Reserve Chair, Janet Yellen put a possible rate hike on the table for this month.
The US central bank leader said economic improvements of late, would be a big part of the discussions at the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting from 14-15 March.
The Dow Jones closed around breakeven with Goldman Sachs boosting the index, while Nike added the most losses. The S&P 500 nudged higher with financials and health care leading the way, while the tech heavy Nasdaq also pushed on up.
US economic news The Institute of Supply Management has reported economic activity in the non-manufacturing sector grew for the 86th consecutive month. ISM non-manufacturing index hit 57.6 in February. The growth was stronger than analysts expectations, that the index would hold at its January reading of 56.5. A reading above 50 on the index, tells us that the service sector is expanding, anything below 50 is a contraction. So, great news there for the non-manufacturing sector.
Local economic news for the weekToday, we are expecting the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) to report on the retail sales numbers for January, while ANZ will release the jobs advertised in February.
On Tuesday, the RBA will hold their all important, Reserve Bank Board meeting with predictions the cash rate will hold at 1.5%.
Finally on Friday, we can expect the housing finance loan numbers for January.
MarketsWall Street closed slightly higher on Friday: The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.01 per cent to close at 21,006, the S&P 500 added 0.1 per cent to close at 2,383 and the NASDAQ added 0.2 per cent to close at 5,871.
European markets closed mixed: London’s FTSE lost 0.1 per cent, Paris added 0.6 per cent and Frankfurt fell 0.3 per cent.
Asian markets closed lower: Tokyo’s Nikkei fell 0.5 per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng lost 0.7 per cent, and China’s Shanghai Composite shed 0.4 per cent.
And back home, the Australian share market closed lower on Friday: the S&P/ASX 200 index closed 47 points down to finish at 5,730. On the futures market the SPI is 21 points higher.
Company newsAguia Resources Limited
(ASX:AGR) has announced it is looking to expand globally, and be dually listed on the Toronto Venture Exchange (TSXV) in Canada, while it maintains its main listing on the ASX. The Brazillian phosphate developer says listing on the Toronto Venture Exchange will give the company access to a larger pool of capital and a dedicated agribusiness investor base. Aguia says with an expanded investor base, that will benefit its shareholders, the company will also move forward to becoming a fertilizer producer. Aguia Resources Limited
(ASX:AGR) last traded at 2.22% lower to 8.8 cents.
Currencies The Australian Dollar at 7.30am was buying 75.95 US cents, 61.82 Pence Sterling, 86.42 Yen and 71.59 Euro cents.
CommoditiesGold has gained $2.10 to $US1,235 an ounce.
Silver has gained 25 cents to $18.00.
Oil has risen 59 cents to $US53.20 a barrel.
Ex-dividends
