Australian shares are set to rise for a second day as US stocks surged as the Federal Reserve signaled a dovish turn in its latest policy statement. Apple and Boeing also boosted US stocks. Iron ore rose as did base metals. Spot gold also saw a rebound. The US and China trade talks resumed.
Economic NewsTrade price indices for the fourth quarter due from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
MarketsWall Street closed up yesterday: The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 1.8 per cent to close at 25,015, the S&P 500 added 1.6 per cent to close at 2,681 and the NASDAQ gained 2.2 per cent to close at 7183.
European markets closed mixed: London’s FTSE up 1.6 per cent, Paris up almost 1 per cent and Frankfurt lost 0.3 per cent.
Asian markets closed mixed: Tokyo’s Nikkei down 0.5 per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng up 0.4 per cent, and China’s Shanghai Composite lost 0.7 per cent.
Taking all of this into equation, the ASX futures are up 18. Yesterday the Australian share market closed 0.2 per cent higher or 13 points higher 5,887
Company newsIMF Bentham
(ASX:IMF) has announced that investors in each of Fund 2 and Fund 3 Rest of the World Funds have agreed to commit an additional $30 million in aggregate by way of additional capital. Funds managed by Partners Capital Investment Group will invest up to an additional $18 million. Partners Capital is a leading outsourced investment office based in London, Boston, New York, Hong Kong and Singapore which manages over US$24 billion US dollars on behalf of endowments, foundations, investment professionals and family offices. IMF and funds managed by Singapore-based private investment firm, Amitell Capital, will each invest up to an additional $6 million. Shares in IMF Bentham
(ASX:IMF) closed 0.34 per cent down to $2.96 yesterday.
Ex-Dividend(ASX:MXT) MCP Master Income Trust paying 1.08 cents unfranked.
CurrenciesOne Australian Dollar at 8:45AM was buying 72.51 US cents, 55.31 Pence Sterling, 79.06 Yen and 63 .18 Euro cents.
Commodities Iron Ore has risen 4.9 per cent to at US$82.53. It futures suggest a 0.7 per cent rise.
Gold has gained $9.50 to US$1325 an ounce.
Silver has gained $0.24 to US$16.07 an ounce.
Oil is up $0.99 to US$54.30 a barrel.
