The Australian share market is poised to open higher today following a record close on Wall Street, across all three major indicies.It comes after US private employers added 253,000 jobs in May, smashing through expectations.
The Nasdaq soared 0.8 per cent, to hit an intraday and record high. The Dow Jones rose about 135 points, with UnitedHealth and Goldman Sachs leading the charge. The S&P 500 also soared 0.8 per cent, to hit an all-time high, with the materials, financials, and health care sector leading.
Meantime gold is trading lower, as is oil, following uncertainty about US crude oversupply.
US economic newsADP released employment figures for May, with private sector payrolls rising 253,000. This beat economists’ expectations of 185,000. The data follows April’s reading of 174,000.
US domestic vehicle sales have dropped to an annualised pace of 16.66 million in May, lower than consensus expectations of 16.9 million [seasonally adjusted]. Analysts say sales were boosted by heavy retailer discounting.
Local economic newsThe Housing Industry Association will release its data of new home sales in April, which will show whether tighter banking standards have affected sales.
MarketsWall Street closed higher yesterday. The Dow Jones Industrial average soared 0.7 per cent to close at 21,144, the S&P 500 added 0.8 per cent to close at 2,430 and the NASDAQ gained 0.8 per cent to close at 6,247.
European markets closed higher: London’s FTSE rose 0.3 per cent, Paris rose 0.7 per cent and Frankfurt climbed 0.4 per cent.
Asian markets closed mixed: Tokyo’s Nikkei increased 1.1 per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 0.6 per cent and China’s Shanghai Composite fell 0.5 per cent.
And back home, the Australian share market closed higher yesterday: The S&P/ASX 200 Index closed 14 points higher to finish at 5,738. On the futures market, the SPI is higher 17 points.
Company newsNeometals Limited
(ASX:NMT) has received successful proof-of-concept testing for extracting lithium and potassium from sodium rich brines. The mineral project developer, says compared to than traditional solar evaporation, the extraction is done in a more cost effective and environmentally friendly way. Neometals has filed a provisional patent and PCT application, and plans to develop and commercialise related technologies. Shares in Neometals Limited
(ASX:NMT) closed 2 per cent lower to 24.5 cents.
Currencies The Australian Dollar at 7.30AM was buying 73.77 US cents, 57.27 Pence Stirling, 82.18 Yen and 65.80 Euro cents.
CommoditiesGold has lost $7.20 to $US1,268 an ounce.
Silver fell 13 cents to $US17.28 an ounce.
Oil has lost 29 cents to $US48.03 a barrel.
