Australian shares are set to drop at the open after US stocks plunged on Monday. The Dow Jones fell more than 600 points posting its worse day since January. Meantime, the Nasdaq was down 3.4 per cent, its biggest one day loss of the year. The declines came after China decided to raise tariffs on some US goods as the trade war between the US and China intensifies. Apple, Boeing and newly listed Uber were among the worst performers, with Uber shedding over 10 per cent.
MarketsWall Street closed lower yesterday: The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 2.4 per cent to 25,325, the S&P 500 fell 2.4 per cent to close at 2812 and the NASDAQ lost 3.4 per cent to 7647.
European markets closed lower: London’s FTSE fell 0.6 per cent, Paris dropped 1.2 per cent and Frankfurt lost 1.5 per cent.
Asian markets closed lower, Tokyo’s Nikkei fell 0.7 per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was closed and China’s Shanghai Composite lost 1.2 per cent.
Locally, the SPI futures are down 54 points. Yesterday, the Australian share market closed 13 points (0.2per cent) lower at 6298.
Company newsNIB
(ASX:NHF) has completed its $24.2 million purchase of QBE's travel insurance business. The deal makes NIB Australia's third largest travel insurer. NIB says the acquisition bolsters its domestic travel insurance market positon. Shares is NIB Holdings
(ASX:NHF) closed 1.2 per cent higher at $5.87 yesterday.
Ex-DividendsJumbo Interactive
(ASX:JIN) is paying 8 cents fully franked.
National Aust. Bank
(ASX:NAB) is paying 83 cents fully franked.
CurrenciesOne Australian Dollar at 7:35AM was buying 69.42US cents, 53.58Pence Sterling, 75.88 Yen and 61.87 Euro cents.
CommoditiesIron Ore futures suggest a 0.1 per cent gain.
Gold has added $13.50 to US$1301 an ounce.
Silver was down $0.01 to US$14.78 an ounce.
Oil lost $0.79 to US $61.01 a barrel.
