Australian shares are set to open lower this morning on the back of a mixed performance on Wall Street. Small caps lead declines in the US yesterday, as trade tensions continued to weigh. Utilities were on the rise in the US yesterday but banks didn’t fare so well. The greenback jumped after the European Central Bank spoke cautiously about growth.
The SPI is pointing to a 10 points fall. Yesterday the Australian share market closed higher with the S&P/ASX 200 Index closing 8 points higher 0.1 per cent at 5662.
MarketsWall Street closed mixed yesterday: The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.3 per cent to close at 24,597, the S&P 500 lost 0.02 per cent to close at 2651 and the NASDAQ lost 0.4 per cent to close at 7070.
European markets closed lower: London’s FTSE lost 0.04 per cent, Paris lost 0.3 per cent and Frankfurt lost 0.04 per cent.
Asian markets closed up: Tokyo’s Nikkei added 1 per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gained 1.3 per cent, and China’s Shanghai Composite gained 1.2 per cent.
Company newsBuilding materials supplier CSR
(ASX:CSR) announced today that Rob Sindel has indicated his intention to step down as CSR’s Managing Director and CEO within the coming 12 months. The Board has commenced a search to appoint a successor. This will include considering both internal and external candidates. Shares in CSR
(ASX:CSR) 1.44 per cent higher at $2.81
CurrenciesOne Australian Dollar at 8.30AM was buying 72.24 US cents, 57.07 Pence Sterling, 82.06 Yen and 63.59 Euro cents.
Commodities The Iron Ore price is higher 1.4 per cent to at US$66.65. It futures suggest a 1.4 per cent gain.
Gold has lost $3.10 to US$1247 an ounce.
Silver has lost $0.01 to US$14.85 an ounce.
Oil has gained $1.87 to US$55.23 a barrel.
