On the back of mixed leads from Wall Street the Australian share market is set for a soft start. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq posted small falls, retreating from their record highs after investors appeared to be taking profits. The Dow Jones however, outperformed and hit an intraday and closing record.
Earlier in the US session though, technology stocks were pulled higher by social media giant Facebook, with its shares initially jumping 5.96 per cent to a record, before paring back.
Meantime on the commodity front, oil has posted another 8-week high, closing above $49.00, thanks to falling US crude stockpiles.
US economic newsGoods meant to last 3 years or more surged in June on the back of civilian aircraft orders rising in June. The Commerce Department reported US durable goods orders rose 6.5 per cent in June, which is the biggest rise seen since July 2014. Durable goods orders also recovered from two previous monthly falls and beat forecasts of a rise of 3 per cent.
Also out of the US, the Labor Department reported initial jobless claims, rose from a three month low. Initial claims for state benefits rose by 10,000 to a seasonally adjusted 244,000 for the week ending July 22.
Local economic newsThe Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) will announce a key measure of business inflation today, the Producer price index for the June quarter.
MarketsWall Street closed mixed on Thursday: The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.4 per cent to close at 21,797, the S&P 500 fell 0.1 per cent to close at 2,475 and the NASDAQ slipped 0.6 per cent to close at 6,382.
European markets closed in the red: London’s FTSE fell 0.1 per cent, Paris lost 0.1 per cent and Frankfurt fell 0.8 per cent.
Asian markets closed higher: Tokyo’s Nikkei added 0.2 per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 0.7 per cent, and China’s Shanghai Composite lifted by 0.1 per cent.
And back home, the Australian share market closed in positive territory on Thursday: At the closing bell, The S&P/ASX 200 Index closed 8 points up or 0.1 per cent higher for the day at 5,785.
On the futures market the SPI is 2 points down.
Company newsOceanaGold Corporation
(ASX:OGC) reported its net profit after tax attributable to members fell 2.9 per cent to $61.4 million to June 2017, compared to $63.2 in the same period in 2016. The copper and gold producer says the slight decrease was mainly due to a one off impairment charge recognised for the mining assets in El Salvador, greater financing costs, and depreciation. Meantime its EBITDA firmed higher to $186.4 million for the half year to 30 June 2017, compared to the $155.2 in the same 2016 period. OceanaGold’s revenue rose 0.8 per cent to about $333.5 million for the six months to 30 June 2017, compared to the prior corresponding period, largely due to higher average prices received for gold, silver and copper. Shares in OceanaGold Corporation
(ASX:OGC) last traded 3.18 per cent higher yesterday to $3.57.
To ex-dividendsTwo companies are going ex-dividend today:
Aurora Dividend Income
(ASX:AOD) is paying 0.31 cents unfranked and
Winha Commerce and Trade International
(ASX:WQW) is paying 3.52 cents unfranked.
CurrenciesOne Australian Dollar at 7:30AM was buying 79.69 US cents, 61.00 Pence Sterling, 88.69 Yen and 68.26 Euro cents.
CommoditiesGold has gained $9.40 to $US1,265 an ounce.
Silver has added 0.11 to $US16.57 an ounce.
And Oil has risen by $0.40 to $US49.15 a barrel.
