Trade war drags on with more tariffs threatened: ASX poised to open lower

Market Reports

by Rachael Jones

Following negative leads from US markets, the Australian share market looks set to open lower this morning. US stocks fell when US President Donald Trump remarked in a cabinet meeting yesterday that he could impose additional tariffs on Chinese imports if he wants. He had promised to hold off on more duties when he met with China's Xi Jinping last month. On the commodities front, oil has fallen and gold has dropped $5.90.

Local economic news 

Westpac leading index for June

Markets

Wall Street closed lower yesterday: The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.1 per cent to close at 27,336, the S&P 500 lost 0.3 per cent to close at 3,004 and the NASDAQ lost 0.4 per cent to close at 8222.

European markets closed higher: London’s FTSE gained 0.6 per cent, Paris added 0.7 per cent and Frankfurt added 0.4 per cent.

Asian markets closed mixed: Tokyo’s Nikkei lost 0.7 per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng added 0.2 per cent, and China’s Shanghai Composite lost 0.2 per cent.

Taking all of this into equation, the ASX futures are pointing to a 13 points fall. Yesterday the S&P/ASX 200 Index closed 0.2 per cent lower or 12 points down at 6,641.

Company news

Yancoal (ASX:YAL) released their quarterly activities report yesterday after the market closed showing the company remains on target for the 2019 operational goals. Year-to-date attributable saleable coal production is running 9 per cent ahead of 2018. The annualised attributable saleable coal volume is 35.6 Million tonnes compared to the target of about 35 million tonnes. Market conditions affected the realised price, but the team continues to secure offtake for the saleable product. Last month the company saw a tragic fatality at the Middlemount JV. Safe work practices have been reinforced. Shares in Yancoal (ASX:YAL) last traded at $3.23.

Currencies

One Australian Dollar at 7:40AM was buying 70.11 US cents, 56.52 Pence Sterling, 75.89 Yen and 62.55 Euro cents.

Commodities

Iron Ore futures suggest a 0.7 per cent fall.
Gold has lost $5.90 to US$1,408 an ounce.
Silver has gained $0.22 to US$15.59 an ounce.
Oil has fallen by $2.07 to US$57.61 a barrel.
 

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