The Australian sharemarket is set for a negative start following weak leads from Wall Street. Stocks closed slightly lower on Monday as investors absorbed mixed quarterly numbers from big banks such as Goldman Sachs and Citigroup. Shares in Goldman Sachs fell by 3.8 per cent after its revenue fell short of market expectations. Boeing was also lower, slipping 1.2 per cent after the US President tweeted that the company should fix and rebrand its 737 Max Jets.
MarketsTo the figures from around the globe: Wall Street closed lower yesterday: The Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 0.1 per cent to 26,385, the S&P 500 lost 0.1 per cent to close at 2906 and the NASDAQ fell 0.1 per cent to 7976.
European markets closed mixed: London’s FTSE closed flat, Paris added 0.1per cent and Frankfurt gained 0.2 per cent.
Asian markets closed mixed, Tokyo’s Nikkei added1.4 per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng lost 0.3 per cent and China’s Shanghai Composite dropped 0.3 per cent.
Returning home, the SPI futures are down 18 points. Yesterday the Australian share market closed flat at 6251.
Local economic newsToday the Reserve Bank will release minutes of its April monetary policy meeting. Analysts are expecting a rate cut in the coming months.
Company newsGlobal logistics solutions group, WiseTech Global
(ASX:WTC), has successfully completed its share purchase plan raising approximately $35.9 million, with about 1.7 million new fully paid ordinary shares to be issued to successful applicants at $20.90 per share. The company says it will put the funds to good use in the continued disciplined execution of its growth strategy. Shares is Wisetech Global
(ASX:WTC) closed 0.78 per cent lower yesterday at $22.91.
Ex-DividendsKatana Capital Limited
(ASX:KAT) is paying 0.5c fully franked
CurrenciesOne Australian Dollar at 7:35 AM was buying 71.72US cents, 54.78 Pence Sterling, 80.34 Yen and 63.47 Euro cents.
CommoditiesIron Ore futures are flat
Gold has dropped $4.40 to US$1291 an ounce.
Silver has fallen $0.02 to US$14.95 an ounce.
Oil was $0.31 lower at US$63.71 a barrel.
