In the US, Wall Street has seen a sea of green, with the Dow Jones hitting another record close and chomping at the heels of the 22,000 mark. Good news for the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq too, which also closed in positive territory for the first trading day of August.
The three indices posted strong monthly gains for July after corporate quarterly results mostly beat expectations.
Overnight, the Oil price meantime fell 2 per cent, while the Copper and silver prices have also seen some weakness, which is not welcome news for the resources companies.
Because of that, our local market is set for a hesitant start.
To US economic newsUS personal incomes have remain unchanged for June, failing to show any movement for the first time in seven months, despite markets bracing for a rise.
Meantime, the Institute for Supply Management has reported US factory activity expanded with the US manufacturing index registering 56.3 in July, slightly less than the 56.5 expected. Manufacturing of course accounts for about 12 per cent of the US economy.
Local economic news The ABS will reveal the building approvals for June. It’s a leading indicator of construction/home building for the industry.
Markets Wall Street closed higher: The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.3 per cent to close at 21,964, the S&P 500 added 0.2 per cent to close at 2,476 and the NASDAQ advanced 0.2 per cent to close at 6,363.
European markets closed higher: London’s FTSE rose 0.7 per cent, Paris added 0.7 per cent and Frankfurt lifted 1.1 per cent.
Asian markets closed higher: Tokyo’s Nikkei added 0.3 per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 0.8 per cent, and China’s Shanghai Composite lifted 0.6 per cent.
And back home, the Australian share market closed higher on Tuesday: At the closing bell, The S&P/ASX 200 Index closed 52 points higher or 0.9 per cent up for the day at 5,772.
On the futures market the SPI is 6 points down.
Company newsCYBG
(ASX:CYB) has reported its mortgage business grew 5.8 per cent (on an annual basis) in the 9 months to 30 June 2017, to hit £22.8 billion. The company which owns Clydesdale Bank and Yorkshire Bank in the UK also saw its Core SME growth rise 4.7 per cent on an annual basis over the same period. CYBG says its result were in line with expectation despite the competitive environment. The group also remains on track to deliver its FY2017 guidance, while its operating costs are tipped to come in below £680 million. Shares in CYBG
(ASX:CYB) last traded 1.26 per cent higher yesterday to $4.41
Reporting seasonWe can watch out for Rio Tinto
(ASX:RIO), Seven West Media
(ASX:SWM) and Genworth Mortgage Insurance Australia
(ASX:GMA) which are set to report financial results today.
CurrenciesOne Australian Dollar at 7:40 was buying 79.70 US cents, 60.35 Pence Sterling, 87.96 Yen and 67.53 Euro cents.
CommoditiesGold has gained $1.40 to $US1,275 an ounce.
Silver has fallen 9 cents to $US16.70 an ounce.
And Oil has dropped by $1.38 to $US48.79 a barrel.
