The Australian share market is set to open higher, according to the positive direction of ASX futures this morning. This is in contrast to Wall Street, which had a mixed performance this morning, and isn’t providing much of a lead – with most S&P 500 sectors finishing in the red.
Yesterday night, Treasurer Scott Morrison unveiled the Federal Budget – with some of the winners being:
• first home buyers (who’ll be able to save up for a home deposit by salary sacrificing into superannuation),
• disabled people (since the National Disability Insurance Scheme will be fully funded by a 0.5% increase in the Medicare levy after two years),
• and Sydney-siders (who will benefit from increased infrastructure spending like the construction of a second international airport).
However, the budget will have a negative impact on big banks – with a new tax on their liabilities starting on 1 July which is expected to raise $6.2 billion in revenue for the government. The big four banks shed between 2% and 3.85% yesterday, with CBA stocks being the hardest hit.
MarketsWall Street closed mostly lower this morning: with The Dow Jones Industrial Average down 0.2 per cent to 20,976, the S&P 500 slipped 0.1 per cent to 2,397 and the NASDAQ gained 0.3 per cent to 6,121.
European markets closed near twenty-one month highs: London’s FTSE gained 0.6 per cent, Paris added 0.3 per cent and Frankfurt was up 0.4 per cent.
Asian markets were mixed: Tokyo’s Nikkei dropped 0.26 per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was up 1.3 per cent, and China’s Shanghai Composite was flat.
Australia’s ASX 200 finished lower yesterday – shedding 31 points (or 0.5 per cent) to 5,840. On the futures market the SPI has risen 19 points.
Company newsSpotless Group Holdings Ltd
(ASX:SPO) has entered into an agreement to purchase Cabrini Linen Service, a specialist linen and laundry business that services the Victorian healthcare industry. The acquisition includes a number of number of multi-year contracts, including an initial ten-year contract with Cabrini Hospital. Spotless expects the acquisition to complete in July. The company also expects this deal to provide it with a market-leading position as a service provider to the healthcare market. Yesterday, Spotless shares closed 0.45% higher at $1.10.
Ex-dividendsResmed
(ASX:RMD) will pay a dividend of 3.09 cents, unfranked.
CurrenciesThe Australian Dollar at 7:30AM has weakened against some major currencies. It is now buying $US73.44 cents, 56.78 Pence Sterling, 83.76 Yen and 67.55 Euro cents.
CommoditiesGold has fallen $5.80 to $US1,221 an ounce.
Silver is down $0.07 to US$16.18 an ounce.
Oil has dropped $0.32 to $US46.20 a barrel.
