The start of June is set to see Australian shares open lower due to concerns over the global economy. Shares on Wall Street dropped - with Industrials shedding as President Trump decides to impose tariffs on steel and aluminium imports from three of America’s biggest allies – Canada, the EU and Mexico. This will disrupt manufacturing output and raise prices for consumers and producers.
Despite the overnight session being tough for US stocks, the month of May was a positive overall.
The S&P 500 fell for the fourth time in five days. Deutsche Bank AG fell to a record low after reports U.S. regulators added it to a group of troubled lenders they monitor. Iron ore futures are pointing to a 0.9 per cent gain.
Local economic newsThe performance of manufacturing for May will be released later today from the Australian Industry Group
Figures from around the globeWall Street closed lower yesterday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 1 per cent to close at 24,416, the S&P 500 fell 0.7 per cent to close at 2,705 and the NASDAQ retreated 0.3 per cent to close at 7442.
European markets closed lower yesterday: London’s FTSE fell 0.2 per cent, Paris lost 0.5 per cent and Frankfurt dropped 1.4 per cent.
Asian markets closed higher yesterday: Tokyo’s Nikkei closed 0.8 per cent higher, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng added 1.4 per cent, and China’s Shanghai Composite gained 1.8 per cent.
Taking all of this into equation, the ASX futures are pointing to a 7pts drop. Yesterday, the Australian share market closed higher with the S&P/ASX 200 Index adding 27 points to close at 6012.
Company newsAustralia’s biggest hotel group, Mantra
(ASX:MTR) has been bought by French company AccorHotels for $1.2 billion. Mantra has 138 hotels in Australia, New Zealand, Hawaii and Bali, and brands such as Peppers, BreakFree and Art Series. The deal will see Mantra deleted from the ASX. The $3.96 a share cash offer meant Mantra had implied market capitalisation of $1.182 billion. The business has around 22,000 rooms and more than $8 billion in assets under management, and an annual turnover of more than $660 million. The company’s brands range from Sofitel, Ibis and Fairmont.
Shares in Mantra Group
(ASX:MTR) last traded at $3.95 on 23rd of May.
Ex-DividendsEclipx Group
(ASX:ECX) is paying 8c fully franked
Evans Dixon
(ASX:ED1) is paying 5c fully franked
Currencies One Australian Dollar at 7:40AM was buying US75.67 cents, 56.98 Pence Sterling, 82.33 Yen and 64.73 Euro cents.
Commodities Iron ore futures are pointing to a 0.9 per cent gain.
Gold has lost $3.80 to $US1303 an ounce.
Silver has fallen 11c to $US16.43 an ounce.
Oil was down $1.11 to $US67.10 a barrel.
CryptocurrenciesThe three most traded cryptocurrencies are trading higher:
Bitcoin has added 2.7 per cent to US$7558,
Ethereum has gained 5.2 per cent to US$581
Ripple has risen 3.8 per cent to US62c.
