Following weak leads from US markets on Friday the Australian share market looks set to open lower. Although shares fell on Wall Street did close the week higher on hopes for lower US interest rates. There were also notes on the hope of a completion to the US-China trade dispute. Prime Minister Scott Morrison is set to speak at the West Australian Chamber of Commerce, his first major speech on the economy since the election and comes one week out from the first meeting of the new Parliament this Tuesday. Income tax cuts at the top of the agenda.
Markets Wall Street closed lower on Friday: The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.1 per cent to close at 26,719, the S&P 500 fell 0.1 per cent to close at 2950 and the NASDAQ lost 0.2 per cent to 8032.
European markets closed lower on Friday: London’s FTSE fell 0.2 per cent, Paris lost 0.1 per cent and Frankfurt was down 0.1 per cent.
Asian markets closed mixed on Friday: Tokyo’s Nikkei lost almost 1 per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 0.3 per cent while China’s Shanghai Composite added 0.5 per cent.
Taking all of this into equation, the SPI futures are down 17 points. On Friday, the Australian share market closed 37 points (0.6 per cent) lower at 6651.
Local economic newsMonday
RBA governor Philip Lowe to speak at a conference in Canberra this morning.
Tuesday
ABS, Characteristics of Australian Business , 2017-18.
Wednesday
Engineering Construction Activity, March 2019.
Thursday
Australian National Accounts: Finance and Wealth, March 2019.
Company newsDexus
(ASX:DXS) on Friday announced that it has settled on the sale of its 100 per cent interest in 11 Talavera Road, Macquarie Park in Sydney. Net proceeds achieved from the sale of the property are $231.2 million, reflecting a slight premium to the property’s book value at 31 December 2018. The sale proceeds will initially be used to repay debt and will progressively fund projects in Dexus’s pipeline of development opportunities. Shares in Dexus
(ASX:DXS) closed 0.81 per cent lower at $13.48 on Friday.
CurrenciesOne Australian Dollar at 7:40 AM was buying 69.33US cents, 54.43 Pence Sterling, 74.39 Yen and 60.96 Euro cents.
Commodities Iron Ore has lost 0.2 per cent to at US$116.98
Iron Ore futures suggest a 1.3 per cent fall.
Gold has added $11.10 to US$1403. an ounce.
Silver was down 20 cents to US$15.37 an ounce.
Oil has gained $0.36 to US$57.43 a barrel.
