The Australian share market is set to open flat, after Wall Street rebounded from its worst trading day of the year.
The Dow Jones breathed a sigh of relief, climbing 55 points with UnitedHealth adding the most gains, while Cisco Systems fell 7.2 per cent.
On the S&P 500 telecommunication led the charge, advancing 1.2 per cent, while the tech heavy Nasdaq shone brightly, rising 0.7 per cent.
Meantime, Gold is trading lower while Oil has settled at a 3-week high amid exporters pledging output cuts.
US economic newsThe US Philadelphia Fed Index rose to 38.8 in May, smashing through the reading of 19 expected. The index indicates the direction of overall business activity in the manufacturing sector. The massive rise follows a reading of 22 in April.
Meantime, The US leading index rose 0.3% in April to 126.9. The index is a leading indicator of peaks and troughs in the business cycle. The reading came as a disappointment to economists who expected 0.4%. It however follows gains in January, February and March.
Markets Wall Street closed higher on Thursday: The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.3 per cent to close at 20,663, the S&P 500 added 0.4 per cent to close at 2,366 and the NASDAQ advanced 0.7 per cent to close at 6,055.
European markets closed lower: London’s FTSE fell 0.9 per cent, Paris lost 0.5 per cent and Frankfurt fell 0.3 per cent.
Asian markets closed lower as well: Tokyo’s Nikkei fell 1.3 per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng lost 0.6 per cent, and China’s Shanghai Composite slid 0.5 per cent.
And back home, the Australian share market closed lower yesterday. The S&P/ASX 200 Index closed 48 points in the red or 0.8% lower to 5,738. On the futures market the SPI is 3 points down.
Company news A London AIM-listed gold explorer and developer, Stratex International, has proposed to buy Crusader Resources Limited
(ASX:CAS) in an all scrip transaction.The companies signed a non-binding Heads of Agreement that would see each Crusader share exchanged for 6.60 Stratex shares. The transaction values each Crusader share at a deemed offer price of 18 cents. Crusader says if the deal is put into place, its shareholders would significantly benefit, as the offer is valued at a 56.5% premium of the company’s last share trade price. Crusader Resources Limited
(ASX:CAS) last traded at 11 cents.
Currencies The Australian Dollar at 7:30AM was buying 74.21 US cents, 57.37 Pence Sterling, 82.77 Yen and 66.87 Euro cents.
Commodities Gold has lost $14.00 to $US1,247 an ounce.
Silver has fallen 34 cents to $US16.57 an ounce.
And Oil has gained 33 cents to $US49.65 a barrel.
