Australian shares are set for a lower open this morning. US equities are providing a weak lead, as investors eagerly await the Federal Reserve’s likely announcement tomorrow that interest rates will rise. If the Fed increases interest rates tomorrow, this will be the third time it has happened for the US in the past decade.
Every S&P 500 sector finished in the red, with energy being the worst performer by far – dragged down by the falling oil prices as global production cuts prove difficult to enforce. OPEC’s latest monthly output report showed that Saudi Arabia lifted oil production by 263,000 barrels day – instead of cutting production by 1.8 million barrels each day (as agreed by the OPEC members late-last year).
US economic newsAccording to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, tbe Producer Price Index (PPI) rose 0.3% last month. However, in the twelve months through February, the PPI advanced 2.2%, which beat economists’ expectations and is its biggest jump since March 2012.
Australian economic newsToday, the Australian Bureau of Statistics will release its new motor vehicle sales data for February.
The Westpac-Melbourne Institute will release its Consumer Sentiment report for March.
MarketsWall Street finished lower: the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.2 per cent to close at 20,837, the S&P 500 was down 0.3 per cent to 2,365 and the NASDAQ lost 0.3 per cent to 5,857.
European markets finished lower: London’s FTSE dropped 0.1 per cent, Paris tumbled by 0.5 per cent and Frankfurt was flat.
Asian markets closed mixed: Tokyo’s Nikkei fell 0.1 per cent, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng and China’s Shanghai Composite both finished flat.
The Australian share market finished flat yesterday: the S&P/ASX 200 index rose 2 points to close at 5,759. On the futures market the SPI is 10 points lower.
Company newsThe Deputy CEO of Westpac Bank
(ASX:WBC), Phil Coffey, has decided to retire, having served on its executive team for 15 years. Coffey will leave the bank on 31 May 2017. However, he’ll still continue in his role as chairman of the charitable Westpac Bicentennial Foundation. Yesterday, shares in Westpac closed 0.71% lower at $34.88.
Ex-dividends
CurrenciesThe Australian Dollar at 7.30am was buying 75.60 US cents, 62.24 Pence Sterling, 86.76 Yen and 71.33 Euro cents.
CommoditiesGold has fallen by $4.10 to $US1,198 an ounce.
Silver has dropped 9 cents to $16.89 an ounce.
Oil has gained 9 cents to $US49.03 a barrel for the April contract.
