Australian shares are set to open lower this morning as Wall Street saw losses right up until the close.
Technology stocks dropped with Intel, Microsoft, IBM, Facebook and Netflix all seeing a fall. Oil rallied – including Exxon Mobil and Chevron. US-China trade tensions continue to worry investors. Energy stocks upped in the European index as crude prices climbed on supply disruption in Canada and after US officials told importers to stop buying Iranian crude from November.
Local economic newsThe Australian Bureau of Statistics will release the figures for job vacancies in May later
And the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) on Thursday kept interest rates on hold.
Markets Wall Street closed lower yesterday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.7 per cent to close at 24,118, the S&P 500 lost 0.9 per cent to close at 2,700 and the NASDAQ was down 1.5 per cent to close at 7445.
European markets closed higher yesterday: London’s FTSE added 1.1 per cent, Paris gained 0.9 per cent and Frankfurt increased by 0.9 per cent.
Asian markets closed lower. Tokyo’s Nikkei closed 0.3 per cent lower, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng lost 1.8 per cent and China’s Shanghai Composite was down 1.1 per cent.
On the futures markets, the ASX futures are pointing to a 11 pts loss. Yesterday, the Australian share market closed flat with the S&P/ASX 200 Index losing 2 points to close at 6196.
Company news Australian Mines
(ASX:AUZ) shares were placed in a trading halt last week whilst it prepared a response to an ASX query. The mineral exploration company retracts the Forecast Financial Information given in a presentation at a mining conference in London on 17 May 2018. They stated that the Sconi nickel and cobalt project revenue is expected to be about $400 million per year for a total value of the deal with SK Innovation of $5 billion. Those comments were contrary to the requirements of the ASX Listing Rules and the Australasian Joint Ore Reserves Committee. A statement released by the company says Investors should not rely on the Forecast Financial Information as a basis for an investment decision. The Company acknowledges that it does not have a “reasonable basis” consistent with the requirements of ASIC Regulatory Guide. Shares in Australian Mines
(ASX:AUZ) last traded at 10.2c on the 19th of June.
Currencies One Australian Dollar at 7:40AM was buying US73.44 cents, 56.0 Pence Sterling, 80.95 Yen and 63.55 Euro cents.
Commodities Iron ore futures are pointing to 0.75 per cent gain.
Gold has dropped $6.10 to $US1254 an ounce.
Silver has fallen 21c to $US16.12 an ounce.
Oil gained $1.77 to $US72.30 a barrel.
CryptocurrenciesThe three most traded cryptocurrencies are trading mixed:
Bitcoin has dropped 0.5 per cent to US$6,140,
Ethereum has fallen 1.2 per cent to US$436,
EOS has gained 3.7 per cent to US$8.04.
Ex-Dividends
