Emmanuel Macron is set become France’s new President. But ahead of the ex-investment banker winning the election yesterday, Wall Street was already rejoicing on Friday when the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq closed at record highs.
In light of the stellar close in the US, the Australian share market looks set to open higher this morning, with the futures pointing to a 55 point gain.
The S&P 500, the Nasdaq and the Dow Jones also rose sharply before the closing bell after Apple shares etched a record high.
On the Dow Jones, the biggest decliner was Apple’s competitor, IBM, while on the S&P, energy led nine sectors higher, while financials lagged behind.
US economic newsThe US Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on Friday the United States created 211,000 jobs in April beating expecations185,000 jobs would be added.
In more good news, the country’s unemployment rate fell to 4.4 per cent which is its lowest rate since May 2007. It well and truly beat economists forecast’s that the jobless rate would jump to 4.6 per cent.
Aus economic news for the weekToday, The Australian Bureau of Statistics will release the building approvals for March, which is volatile forward looking housing measure.
ANZ will also report its job ads, which are forward looking employment gauge.
Come Tuesday the Australian Government will hand down the Federal Budget at 7.30pm. Treasurer Scott Morrison and Finance Minister Mathias Cormann say the budget will tackle policies aimed at first-home buyers looking to buy and retirees looking to downsize.
In other news on Tuesday, we will hear from NAB, with their business survey for April and the ABS, who will announce the retail trade for March, with expectations sales may rise 0.3%.
Finally on Friday the ABS will report the Tourism arrivals for March with Chinese arrivals soaring. The bureau will also release the credit and debit card data for March.
MarketsWall Street closed higher on Friday: The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.3 per cent to close at 21,007, the S&P 500 added 0.4 per cent to close at 2,399 and the NASDAQ lifted 0.4 per cent to close at 6,101.
European markets closed higher: London’s FTSE gained 0.7 per cent, Paris climbed 1.1 per cent and Frankfurt advanced 0.6 per cent.
Asian markets closed lower: Tokyo’s Nikkei was not trading, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 0.8 per cent, and China’s Shanghai Composite also lost 0.8 per cent.
And back home, the Australian share market closed lower on Friday: The S&P/ASX 200 Index closed 40 points down to finish at 5,837. The index lost 88 points down over the week. On the futures market the SPI is 55 points higher.
Company newsSlater and Gordon
(ASX:SGH) has executed and completed an agreement with its New Senior lenders for a new $40 million working capital facility. The law firm’s new facility has a three-year term. Slater and Gordon say it will provide the company with working capital headroom, as it continues to execute its plan to restore its financial performance. The company is also continuing its discussions about its recapitalisation. Shares in Slater and Gordon
(ASX:SGH) last traded flat at 9 cents.
Ex-dividendsOne company is going ex-dividend today: ANZ Banking Group Limited
(ASX:ANZ) is 80 cents fully franked.
Currencies The Australian Dollar at 7:00AM was buying 74.13 US cents, 57.11 Pence Sterling, 83.75 Yen and 67.28 Euro cents.
Commodities Gold has lost 60 cents to $US1,228 an ounce.
Silver has gained 4 cents to $US16.34 an ounce.
And Oil has added 92 cents to $US46.47 a barrel.
