Australian shares are poised to open flat this morning as volatility returned to Wall Street. Stocks closed higher after a wild rally just before the close. US consumer confidence slumped in December to the lowest since July. Labour market expectations also fell in the US. Treasuries rose, oil slipped below $45 a barrel and the Australian dollar dropped another 0.5 per cent.
Markets Wall Street closed up yesterday: The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 1.1 per cent to close at 23,139, the S&P 500 added 0.9 per cent to close at 2,489 and the NASDAQ gained 0.4 per cent to close at 6579.
European markets closed lower: London’s FTSE lost 1.5 per cent, Paris lost 0.6 per cent and Frankfurt lost 2.4 per cent.
Asian markets closed mixed: Tokyo’s Nikkei added 3.9 per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng lost 0.7 per cent, and China’s Shanghai Composite lost 0.6 per cent.
Taking all of this into equation, the ASX futures are flat. Yesterday the Australian share market closed 1.9 per cent higher or 103 points higher 5,597
Company newsThe Board of Directors of InvoCare
(ASX:IVC) have today announced the resignation of Gary Stead as an independent Non-executive Director with effect from 31 December 2018. The Chairman, Bart Vogel, acknowledged the valuable contribution Gary has made since joining the Board on 1 September 2014. He says as chair of the Finance, Capital & Investment Committee, he has been the driving force behind the regional expansion strategy. Gary’s insights into debt and capital markets, into investment and M&A, and into the business in general have helped shape the platform for growth at InvoCare. Shares in InvoCare
(ASX:IVC) closed flat at $10.68 yesterday.
Currencies One Australian Dollar at 9:00AM was buying 70.33 US cents, 55.66 Pence Sterling, 78.16 Yen and 61.54 Euro cents.
Commodities Gold has gained $5.10 to US$1278 an ounce.
Silver has gained $0.17 to US$15.29 an ounce.
Oil has lost $0.96 to US$45.26 a barrel.
