The local bourse looks set to drop at the open despite positive leads from Wall Street. Weakness in base metals is expected to negatively impact the mining sector today. In the US stocks rose yesterday as tech shares continued to rebound, offsetting concerns over trade. Apple was one of the best performers rising 2.5 per cent ahead of tomorrow's announcement of new products.
Meantime, oil has notched up its biggest gains since June as the US East Coast braces for hurricane Florence and its effect on oil supply. The storm is expected to make landfall later this week and there are reports it could be the worst hurricane to hit North Carolina in 60 years. There are also concerns about the potential restriction of oil supplies as a consequence of the upcoming US sanctions on Iran.
Local economic newsWe can expect monthly consumer confidence figures from Westpac and the Melbourne Institute.
MarketsWall Street closed higher yesterday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.4 per cent to close at 25,971, the S&P 500 added 0.4 per cent to 2,888 and the NASDAQ gained 0.6 per cent to close at 7972.
European markets closed mixed yesterday: London’s FTSE closed 0.1 per cent lower, Paris added 0.3 per cent and Frankfurt lost 0.1 per cent.
Asian markets closed mixed, Tokyo’s Nikkei added 1.3 per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 0.7 per cent and China’s Shanghai Composite lost 0.2 per cent.
On the futures markets, the SPI futures are pointing to a 12 points loss. Yesterday,the Australian share market closed higher with the S&P/ASX 200 Index adding 38 points to close at 6180.
Company newsBega Cheese
(ASX:BGA) has announced the completion of an institutional share placement to raise around $200 million. A share purchase plan will now be offered to all existing eligible Australian and New Zealand shareholders . The share purchase plan is capped at $50 million and is not underwritten. The funds raised will be used to reduce debt following the acquisition of the Koroit plant and, to improve Bega's financial flexibility. Shares inBega Cheese
(ASX:BGA) are on trading halt, but last traded at $7.58 on the 7th of September.
CurrenciesOne Australian Dollar at 7:40AM was buying US71.19 cents, 54.71 Pence Sterling, 79.45 Yen and 61.37 Euro cents
CommoditiesIron ore futures are pointing to 1.6 per cent fall.
Gold added$3.80 to$US1204 an ounce.
Silver down1cat $US14.17an ounce.
Oil gained $2.37to $US69.91a barrel.
CryptocurrenciesThe three most traded cryptocurrencies are trading lower: Bitcoin has lost 0.5per cent to US$6293, Ethereum has fallen 7.1 per cent to US$182 and EOS was down 3.7 per cent to US$4.83.
Ex-Dividends
