Following weak leads from US markets, the Australian share market looks set to open lower. Wall Street finished in the red after being dragged down by tech stocks such as Facebook, Microsoft and Google. Early gains were erased as investors sold tech stocks in afternoon trade. Facebook fell almost 5 per cent as the fallout from the data scandal continues. Mark Zuckerberg has agreed to testify in front of US congress over the scandal.
On the commodities front, oil and gold have both dropped.
US economic news:
U.S. consumer confidence declined in March for the first time this year, shedding just over 2 points to 127.7 below a forecast of 131. Despite the modest retreat economists believe the index remains historically high suggesting strong months ahead.
Markets:
Wall Street closed lower yesterday: The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 1.4 per cent to close at 23, 858, the S&P 500 lost 1.7 per cent to close at 2613 and the NASDAQ lost 2.9 per cent to close at 7009.
European markets closed up: London’s FTSE gained 1.6 per cent, Paris rose 1 per cent and Frankfurt lifted 1.6 per cent.
Asian markets closed up: Tokyo’s Nikkei added 2.7 per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng 0.8 per cent, and China’s Shanghai Composite 1.1 per cent.
Taking all of this into consideration, the ASX futures are pointing to a 60 points fall. Yesterday the Australian share market closed 42 points higher with the S&P/ASX 200 ending the day at 5,832.
Company newsNew Zealand satellite broadcaster Sky Television
(ASX:SKT) has announced it’s lost its bid to broadcast the Rugby World Cup for 2019. The company was informed last night that negotiations with the selected party are underway and should those negotiations fail the Sky will remain a contender. The company says a strong bid was put forward but the event is incredibly expensive. Shares in Sky Television
(ASX:SKT) closed 7.55 per cent higher at $2.28.
CurrenciesOne Australian Dollar at 8:30AM was buying 76.83 US cents, 54.26 Pence Sterling, 80.92 Yen and 61.95 Euro cents.
Commodities Gold has lost $10.40 to $US1351 an ounce.
Silver has lost 16 cents to $US16.52 an ounce.
Oil has lost $1.22 to $US64.66 a barrel.
CryptocurrenciesBitcoin has gained 4 per cent to US $8033, Ethereum fallen about 4 per cent to US$461, and Eos has gained about 11 per cent to $6.20.
