US stocks rise as Fed looks to cut rates: ASX poised to open higher

Market Reports

by Rachael Jones

The Australian share market looks set to open higher this morning. Wall Street closed higher as investors grew in confidence that the Federal Reserve will lower interest rates this year to reignite the economy. There have been signs also that the Trump administration is looking to avoid imposing tariffs on Mexico in an immigration war. A 5 per cent US tariff on all goods has been touted, if this takes effect it could be detrimental to hundreds of thousands of US jobs, particularly in Texas. On the commodities front, gold has gained $6.00 and oil fell.

Markets 

Wall Street closed higher yesterday: The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.8 per cent to 25,540, the S&P 500 added 0.8 per cent to close at 2826 and the NASDAQ rose 0.6 per cent to 7575.
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European markets closed higher: London’s FTSE added 0.1 per cent, Paris gained 0.5 per cent and Frankfurt rose 0.1 per cent.

Asian markets closed mixed, Tokyo’s Nikkei added 1.8 per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was up 0.5 per cent and China’s Shanghai Composite lost 0.03 per cent.

The SPI futures are up 21 points. Yesterday, the Australian share market closed 26 points or 0.4 per cent higher at 6359.

Local economic news

We are set to see the figures for International Trade in Goods and Services for April 2019 from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

Company news

Accommodation and parts and services company Fleetwood Corporation (ASX:FWD) has entered into an accommodation agreement with Rio Tinto. In December 2018, Rio Tinto exercised an option to extend the term of the agreement for a one year period to 31 December 2019. Rio Tinto has now exercised its final option to extend the term of the agreement for a further one year period, starting next January. This will end on the 31 December 2020. Shares in Fleetwood Corporation (ASX:FWD) closed 0.8 per centlower at $1.83 yesterday.

Ex- Dividends

Garda Capital Group Stapled Securities (ASX:GCM) is paying 4 cents fully franked
Gentrack Group Ltd (ASX:GTK) is paying 4.72 cents 8.5 per cent franked
Kathmandu Holdings Ltd (ASX:KMD) is paying 3.29 cents unfranked
OFX Group Ltd (ASX:OFX) is paying 3.28 cents fully franked

Currencies

One Australian Dollar at 7:45AM was buying 69.72US cents, 54.95 Pence Sterling, 75.59 Yen and 62.12 Euro cents.

Commodities

Iron Ore futures suggest a 0.2 per cent fall.
Gold has gained $6.00 to US$1335 an ounce.
Silver was up $0.03 to US$14.79 an ounce.
Oil fell $1.79 to US$51.69 a barrel.
 

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