Australian shares are set to open higher this morning following positive leads on Wall Street. US investors were optimistic that the US was close to resolving its steel and aluminium tariff dispute with Canada and Mexico. Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump has signed a national emergency order that could block China's Huawei and other telecommunications companies from America's 5G networks. The executive order bars US companies from using telecommunications equipment made by firms posing a national security risk.The Trump administration has also made a decision to delay auto tariffs by up to six months. The deadline is this Saturday to decide whether to slap duties on European car imports.
Local economicThe Australian Bureau of Statistics will release Labour force figures for April.
Markets Wall Street closed higher yesterday: The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.5 per cent to 25,648, the S&P 500 gained 0.6 per cent to close at 2851 and the NASDAQ rose 1.1 per cent to 7822.
European markets closed higher: London’s FTSE added 0.8 per cent, Paris gained 0.6 per cent and Frankfurt rose 0.9 per cent.
Asian markets closed higher, Tokyo’s Nikkei added 0.6 per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was up 0.5 per cent and China’s Shanghai Composite gained 1.9 per cent.
Taking all of this into equation, the SPI futures are up 14 points. Yesterday, the Australian share market closed 44 points (0.7 per cent) higher at 6284.
Company newsCYBG
(ASX:CYB) reported a statutory profit before tax of just £29 million, that's 54 million dollars, on revenue of £843 million in the six months ending March 31, compared with a loss of £95 million in the first half of 2018. Formerly known as Clydesdale Bank and owned by NAB, CYBG made an all scrip takeover offer for Richard Branson's Virgin Money in May 2017. Acquisition and integration costs of £214 million during the period, were mostly associated with this acquisition. Total revenues in the six months to March were flat year on year at £843 million. Underlying profit before tax fell 5 per cent to £286 million. Underlying impairment losses jumped from £48 million to £77 million. Shares in CYBG
(ASX:CYB) closed 0.58 per cent higher at $3.46 yesterday.
Ex-DividendsAutosports Group Ltd
(ASX:ASG) is paying 2 cents fully franked
Plato Income Maximiser Ltd
(ASX:PL8) is paying 3.5 cents fully franked
Sandon Capital Investments Ltd
(ASX:SNC) is paying 3.5 cents fully franked
Westpac Banking Corp
(ASX:WBC) is paying 94 cents fully franked
Z Energy Ltd
(ASX:ZEL) is paying 28.77 cents unfranked
CurrenciesOne Australian Dollar at 7:40AM was buying 69.33 US cents, 53.98 Pence Sterling, 75.97 Yen and 61.88 Euro cents.
Commodities Iron Ore futures suggest a 1.4 per cent gain.
Gold has added $0.90 to US$1297 an ounce.
Silver was down $0.01 to US$14.80 an ounce.
Oil gained $0.92 to US$62.35 a barrel.
