Australian shares are set to open higher this morning. We saw Wall Street take a dip yesterday - the NASDAQ fell as shares were dragged down by Google's Alphabet Inc. They saw their worst day in 6 and a half years. This was mostly a result of their quarterly results showing growth in the company was slowing. And it's been four months of intense negotiations, now the Trump administration says its ready to move on if no deal is made between them and China. The trade war has so far seen tariffs on trade war $360 billion worth of each other’s goods. Top US negotiators are in Beijing this week for the latest round of talks.
Local economic newsAiG will release performance of manufacturing for April and CoreLogic are due to release dwelling prices for April.
To the figures from around the globe: Wall Street closed mixed yesterday: The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 0.2 per cent higher at 26,593, the S&P 500 added 0.1 per cent to close at 2946 and the NASDAQ lost 0.8 per cent to 8095.
European markets closed mixed: London’s FTSE fell 0.3 per cent, Paris gained 0.1 per cent and Frankfurt closed 0.1 higher per cent.
Asian markets closed mixed, Tokyo’s Nikkei was closed, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng lost 0.7 per cent and China’s Shanghai Composite added 0.5 per cent.
Taking all of this into equation, the SPI futures are up 20 points. Yesterday, the Australian share market closed 34 points (0.5 per cent) lower at 6325.
Company news Wealth management software company IRESS
(ASX:IRE) has appointed a new managing director for the UK business. Phil Quin-Conroy joined IRESS two years ago and has successfully established and lead the expansion of the lending business in Australia. He has more than 25 years’ experience in financial services and technology in Australia and the UK. He has previously worked as Head of Business Consulting for MLC in the United Kingdom and Head of Insurance & Licensee Services for National Australia Bank. He will start in the role in the UK on 17 June. Shares in Iress
(ASX:IRE) closed 0.8 per cent higher at $14.33.
Ex-DividendsBank of Queensland Limited
(ASX:BOQ) is paying 34 cents fully franked
NB Global Corporate Income Trust
(ASX:NBI) is paying 0.875 cents unfranked
CurrenciesOne Australian Dollar at 7:40AM was buying 70.50 US cents, 54.13 Pence Sterling, 78.57 Yen and 62.87 Euro cents.
Commodities Iron Ore futures suggest a 2.1 per cent gain.
Gold has gained $3.90 to US$1285 an ounce.
Silver has added $0.04 to US$14.97 an ounce.
Oil was down $0.03 to US$63.47 a barrel.
