Following mixed leads from US markets and a lower futures index, the Australian share market looks set to open lower this morning.
Yesterday marked the 30th anniversary of “Black Monday”, known for the worst day in US stock market history.
The Dow had an unsteady day, falling nearly 105 points before close to rise into the green before the evening bell, and the US dollar has dropped after Treasury yields slipped.
Apple saw a 2.5 per cent decline after weak uptake of its iPhone 8. The Nasdaq fell behind, with Facebook, Alphabet, Netflix and Amazon all closing lower.
On the commodities front, oil has dropped 1.31 per cent and gold has picked up again after a one-week low. Iron ore is tracking higher.
US economic newsUS jobless claims have dropped by 22,000 to 222,000 last week, the lowest level in 44 years. This is 18,000 more than expected. Workers affected by Hurricanes Harvey and Irma continue to return to work and the Columbus Day holiday also affected the figures.
The Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Index showed a 4.1 point increase from the previous month to 27.9 this month, more than market expectations of 22 and the highest reading since May. The employment index rose by 24 points to 30.6, while new orders fell by 9.9 points to 19.6.
FiguresWall Street closed mixed yesterday: The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.02 per cent to close at 23,163, the S&P 500 added 0.03 per cent to close at 2,562 and the NASDAQ lost 0.3 per cent to close at 6,606.
European markets closed lower: London’s FTSE dropped 0.3 per cent, Paris was down 0.3 per cent also and Frankfurt lost 0.4 per cent.
Asian markets closed mixed: Tokyo’s Nikkei gained 0.4 per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was down almost 2 per cent, and China’s Shanghai Composite dropped 0.3 per cent.
And back home, the Australian share market closed higher yesterday: The S&P/ASX 200 Index closed 6 points up to finish at 5,896.
On the futures market the SPI is 19 points down.
Company newsCenturia Capital Group
(ASX:CNI) announced it has acquired a further 1.8 per cent stake in Centuria Metropolitan REIT. This increases Centuria’s total interest to 19.9 per cent from 17.75 per cent earlier this month. The additional investment follows a $60 million entitlement offer announced in early October. Shares in Centuria Capital Group
(ASX:CNI) last traded 1.76 per cent higher to $1.45.
CurrenciesOne Australian Dollar at 7:45AM was buying 78.79 US cents, 59.88 Pence Sterling, 88.69 Yen and 66.50 Euro cents.
CommoditiesGold has gained $8.50 to $US1,292 an ounce.
Silver has gained $0.30 cents to $US17.30 an ounce.
Oil has lost $0.68 cents to $US51.58 a barrel.
