Ahead of the Easter long weekend, investor sentiment has dropped and the Australian share market is set to open lower this morning.
Geopolitical risks (in regards to the US, Russia, Syria and North Korea) have continued to worry investors around the world, with many of the major equity markets in the world posting losses overnight.
This morning, the CBOE Volatility Index (VIX), which measures fear in the market, traded higher around 15.66 points. Traditional safe haven assets like gold and the yen have continued to rise.
On the other hand, iron ore prices plunged 8.5% overnight to around US$68 per tonne over concerns about reduced demand for steel, and China’s growth slowing down. Indeed, since late-February iron ore prices have fallen more than 25%.
Australian economic newsThe Australian Bureau of Statistics will release its March employment figures.
And the Reserve Bank of Australia will release its half-yearly Financial Stability Review, which will contain its assessment of the financial system’s current condition and potential risks to financial stability. So look out for those later today.
MarketsWall Street finished lower again this morning: The Dow Jones was down 0.3% to 20,592, the S&P 500 slipped 0.4% to 2,345, and the NASDAQ lost 0.5% to 5,836 points.
European markets finished mixed overnight: London’s FTSE was down 0.2%, Paris was flat and Frankfurt rose 0.1%.
Asian markets were also mixed: the Nikkei dropped by 1%, the Hang Seng rose 0.9% and the Shanghai Composite fell 0.5%.
Australia’s ASX 200 posted a slight gain yesterday – up by 5 points (or 0.1%) to close at 5,934.
This morning, on the futures market the SPI is down 31 points.
Company newsInvestment group Gowing Bros Ltd
(ASX:GOW) has appointed an agent to run an expression of interest process for the complete sale of the Port Central Shopping Centre in Port Macquarie, NSW. Gowing is looking to completely sell the shopping centre, or continue developing it with a suitable joint venture partner. However, the company adds that there is no guarantee a transaction will eventuate from this process. Yesterday, Gowing Bros shares closed 1.41% higher at $3.60.
Ex-dividendsThree companies are going ex-dividend today:
- TPG Telecom
(ASX:TPM) will pay 8 cents, fully franked,
- WAM Capital
(ASX:WAM) will pay 7.5 cents, fully franked, and
- WAM Leaders
(ASX:WLE) will pay 1 cent, fully franked.
CurrenciesAt 7.30am, the Australian Dollar was buying $US75.33 cents, 60.05 Pence Sterling, 82.08 Yen and 70.61 Euro cents.
Commodities Gold has gained $12.90 to $US1,289 an ounce.
Silver is up 23 cents at US$18.48 an ounce.
Oil is down $0.54 to $US53.23 a barrel.
