Australian shares are poised to open higher this morning as the US saw their rally in equities grind to a halt after reports that the US and China trade deal is stalling on all aspects of the talks. It's expected the Fed will likely keep rates unchanged this week. Texas crude declined.
Economic News Westpac will release the leading index for February; we'll be able to see if growth has slowed from an above trend pace.
MarketsWall Street closed mixed yesterday: The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 0.1 per cent lower at 25,887, the S&P 500 closed flat at 2,833 and the NASDAQ gained 0.1 per cent to 7724
European markets closed higher: London’s FTSE added 0.3 per cent, Paris gained 0.2 per cent and Frankfurt closed 1.1 per cent higher.
Asian markets closed mixed, Tokyo’s Nikkei fell 0.1 per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gained 0.2 per cent and China’s Shanghai Composite dropped 0.2 per cent.
Taking all of this into equation, the ASX futures are up 10 points. Yesterday the Australian share market closed 0.1 per cent lower or 6 points at 6185.
Company newsSyrah Resources
(ASX:SYR) released a statement the confirm that Cyclone Idai in Mozambique has not impacted the Balama Graphite Operation and logistic supply chain at this time. The cyclone made landfall near the city of Beira in the province of Sofala, which is over 1,000 kilometres by road to the south of Syrah’s operations and port. Syrah continues production ramp up with sales and shipping of graphite progressing as planned. Shaun Verner, Managing Director and CEO says “Whilst Syrah’s operations have not been impacted by this cyclone, the destruction and death toll is significant in Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Malawi. The Syrah team extend their deepest sympathies to those impacted.” Shares in Syrah Resources
(ASX:SYR) closed 0.9 per cent lower at $1.05 yesterday.
AGL Energy
(ASX:AGL) has appointed Patricia McKenzie as a Non-Executive Director, effective from May 2019. She will stand for election at the 2019 Annual General Meeting. Ms McKenzie has more than 35 years’ experience in the Australian energy sector with particular focus on market design, industry governance and regulatory reform. She was CEO of the Gas Market Company from 2001 to 2008 and a member of the Gas Market Leaders Group representing gas market operators from 2005 to 2010. Shares in AGL Energy (AGL) closed 0.3 per cent higher at $21.93 yesterday.
Ex-dividendAcrow Formwork and Construction Srvc Ltd
(ASX:ACF) is paying 1 cent unfranked
Absolute Equity Performance Fund Ltd
(ASX:AEG) is paying 2 cents fully franked
Contact Energy Ltd
(ASX:CEN) is paying 14.41 cents unfranked
Cml Group Ltd
(ASX:CGR) is paying 1 cent fully franked
Crown Resorts Ltd
(ASX:CWN) is paying 30 cents 60 per cent franked
Ellerston Asian Investments Ltd
(ASX:EAI) is paying 1 cent fully franked
Kelly Partners Group Holdings Ltd
(ASX:KPG) is paying 1.1 cents fully franked
K & S Corporation
(ASX:KSC) is paying 2 cents fully franked
PPK Group Limited
(ASX:PPK) is paying 1 cent fully franked
RXP Services Ltd
(ASX:RXP) is paying 1.75 cents fully franked
Supply Network Limited
(ASX:SNL) is paying 6 cents fully franked
Vita Life Sciences Limited
(ASX:VLS) is paying 2.25 cents fully franked
Webjet Limited
(ASX:WEB) is paying 8.5 cents fully franked
CurrenciesOne Australian Dollar at 7:40 AM was buying 70.88US cents, 53.43 Pence Sterling, 78.96 Yen and 62.45 Euro cents.
Commodities Iron Ore futures suggest a 0.3 per cent fall.
Gold has added $5.00 to US$1307 an ounce.
Silver has gained $0.05 to US$15.38 an ounce.
Oil was $0.24 lower at US$59.14 a barrel.
