The Australian share market is set to open higher this morning after Wall Street pushed to record highs. There was thin trading in the US ahead of the Independence Day break. The US made plans to impose additional duties on steel from China, believing some steel wheels are being unfairly subsidised. The US Commerce department also said it would impose levies of more than 400 per cent on steel imports from Vietnam. Meanwhile iron ore is leading the way back home - helping Australia to a record trade surplus of $5.75 billion in May. On the commodities front, oil has risen and gold is up over $13.
Local economic news From the Australian Bureau of Statistics we are set to see:-
Job Vacancies, May 2019.
Retail Trade, May 2019.
MarketsWall Street closed higher yesterday: The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 0.7 per cent higher at 26,966, the S&P 500 added 0.8 per cent to close at 2996 and the NASDAQ gained 0.8 per cent to 8170.
European markets closed higher: London’s FTSE added 0.7 per cent, Paris gained 0.8 per cent and Frankfurt was up 0.7 per cent.
Asian markets closed lower, Tokyo’s Nikkei fell 0.5 per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was down 0.1 per cent and China’s Shanghai Composite lost 0.9 per cent.
Taking all of this into equation, the SPI futures are up 22 points. Yesterday, the Australian share market closed 32 points or 0.5 per cent higher at 6685.
Company newsLeading non-bank mortgage lender Resimac Group
(ASX:RMC) has acquired 15 per cent of Adelaide-based fintech Positive Group. They specialise in asset finance solutions for consumers, mortgage brokers and small businesses. Consideration for the purchase was $3 million, and Resimac holds an option to acquire a further 10 per cent. Shares in Resimac Group
(ASX:RMC) closed 1.6 per cent higher at $0.63.
Ex-DividendsClime Capital Ltd
(ASX:CAM) is paying 1.25 cents fully franked
Morphic Ethical Equities Fund Ltd
(ASX:MEC) is paying 1 cent fully franked
CurrenciesOne Australian Dollar at 7:40AM was buying 70.32US cents, 55.93 Pence Sterling, 75.83 Yen and 62.35 Euro cents.
Commodities Iron Ore futures suggest a 0.7 per cent fall.
Gold has risen $13.50 to US$1422 an ounce.
Silver was up $0.11 to US$15.35 an ounce.
Oil added $1.15 to US$57.40 a barrel.
