Australian shares look set extend losses this morning following weak leads from Wall Street on Friday. A disappointing jobs report triggered the declines in the US. Equities fell sharply at the start of the session before paring losses. The major indexes all shed more than 2 per cent over the week
US Economic NewsThe US economy added just 20,000 jobs in last month, marking the weakest month of jobs creation since September 2017. Economists polled by Dow Jones expected a gain of 180,000. The data comes amid growing concerns the global economy may be slowing down. Last week data out of China showed its exports slumped almost 21 percent from a year earlier, far below analyst expectations and erasing a surprise jump in January.
Local Economic NewsThe week kicks off on Tuesday when NAB releases its February business survey and the ABS releases data on lending to households and businesses .On Wednesday we can expect Westpac and the Melbourne Institute's monthly consumer confidence report. Finally on Friday the ABS issues the Overseas Arrivals and Departures figures.
MarketsWall Street closed lower on Friday: The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.1 per cent to close at 25,450, the S&P 500 dropped 0.2 per cent to close at 2,743 and the NASDAQ also shed 0.2 per cent to close at 7408.
European markets closed lower on Friday: London’s FTSE dropped 0.7 per cent, Paris shed 0.7 per cent and Frankfurt dropped 0.5 per cent.
Asian markets also lower on Friday: Tokyo’s Nikkei fell over 2 per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng dropped almost 2 per cent while China’s Shanghai Composite lost 4.4 per cent.
Returning home, the SPI futures are down 14 points. On Friday, The local bourse came under pressure giving up some recent gains on the back of concerns about global growth. the Australian share market closed almost 1 per cent lower or 60 points lower to 6204.
Company newsIncitec Pivot
(ASX:IPL) has announced the pricing of an of a $450 million fixed rate Australian Medium Term Notes offering. The 7-year Notes were priced at a coupon of 4.30 per cent,equating to a spread of 2.40 per cent above the semi-quarterly swap rate, maturing 18 March 2026. The company says that the success of the Notes issuance, being more than twice oversubscribed, reflects the IPL’s long-standing investment grade credit profile and strong track record of financial discipline. Shares in Incitec Pivot
(ASX:IPL) closed 0.29 per cent higher at $3.42 on Friday.
Ex-DivContrarian Value Fund Ltd
(ASX:CVF) is paying 2 cents fully franked
EQT Holdings Ltd
(ASX:EQT) is paying 44 cents fully franked
ICSGlobal Limited
(ASX:ICS) is paying 2.5 cents unfranked
Imdex Limited
(ASX:IMD) is paying 0.8 cents fully franked
Lovisa Holdings Ltd
(ASX:LOV) is paying 18 cents fully franked
Noni B Limited
(ASX:NBL) is paying 9 cents fully franked
Naos Emerging Opportunities Company Ltd
(ASX:NCC) is paying 3.75 cents fully franked
Over The Wire Holdings Ltd
(ASX:OTW) is paying 1.25 cents fully franked
OZ Minerals Limited
(ASX:OZL) is paying 15 cents fully franked
CurrenciesOne Australian Dollar at 7:40AM was buying 70.37 US cents, 54.28 Pence Sterling, 78.10 Yen and 62.62 Euro cents.
CommoditiesIron ore futures suggest a 1.9 per cent fall.
Gold has added $13.20 to US$1299 an ounce.
Silver has gained $0.31 to US$15.35 an ounce.
Oil has lost $0.59 to US$56.07 a barrel.
