Australian shares are set to open lower this morning. Investors are cautious as conflicting signals come regarding the US and China trade war. On Friday the ASX fluctuated and US stocks were a bit of a rollercoaster. President Donald Trump spoke optimistically about the potential for a deal, but as yet there is still no sign of a specific agreement. Also on Friday in the US the yield on the benchmark 2-year Treasury note rose to its highest level since 2008 after the government's monthly jobs report showed the US economy adding jobs and wages rising at the fastest pace since April 2009.
Local economic news AiG performance of services October, MI inflation October, ANZ job ads October; Westpac results
FridayInternational Merchandise Trade: Confidential Commodities List, October 2018.
And Housing Finance, Australia, September 2018.
MarketsWall Street closed lower on Friday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.4 per cent to close at 25,271, the S&P 500 fell 0.6 per cent to 2723 and the NASDAQ fell over 1 per cent to 7357.
European markets closed mixed on Friday: London’s FTSE fell 0.3 per cent, Paris added 0.3 per cent and Frankfurt rose 0.4 per cent.
Asian markets closed higher on Friday, Tokyo’s Nikkei closed 2.6 per cent higher, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng jumped 4.2 per cent and China’s Shanghai Composite gained 2.7 per cent.
On the futures markets, the ASX futures are pointing to a 5 points fall. On Friday, the Australian share market closed higher on Friday with the S&P/ASX 200 Index closing 8 points higher to 5849.
Company newsCIMIC Group
(ASX:CIM) company UGL has been awarded a contract with ElectraNet to design, build and commission high voltage substations and transmission lines that will connect the Prominent Hill Mine to the South Australian electricity grid. UGL will build on Thiess’ 10-year involvement with the mine. The project will generate revenue to UGL of approximately $180 million over two years. UGL designed and constructioned the power line that feeds the Olympic Dam mine site, 550kms northwest of Adelaide. Shares in Cimic Group
(ASX:CIM) closed 1.4 per cent lower to $46.42 on Friday.
Ex-DividendsJoyce Corporation
(ASX:JYC) is paying 6 cents fully franked
NAOS Ex-50 Opportunities Company
(ASX:NAC) is paying 1.35 cents fully franked
NAOS Small Cap Opportunities Company
(ASX:NSC) is paying 1.35 cents fully franked.
CurrenciesOne Australian Dollar at 7:40AM was buying US71.88 cents, 55.18 Pence Sterling, 81.35 Yen and 63.07 Euro cents.
CommoditiesIron ore futures are pointing to a 0.4 per cent fall.
Gold has lost $5.30 to $US1233 an ounce.
Silver was down 2c to $US14.76 an ounce.
Oil fell 55 cents to $US63.14 a barrel.
CryptocurrenciesThe three most traded cryptocurrencies are trading mixed: Bitcoin has fallen 0.07 per cent to US$6350, Ethereum has gained 4.3per cent to US$209 and Bitcoin Cash was up 14.72 per cent to US$551
