The Australian share market is likely to dip in early trade after Wall Street closed lower as investors wait for the US labour market report to be released at the end of the week.
US economic news
The US market dipped, despite positive car sales data, showing sales for the first half of the year were up six per cent at 1.1 million vehicles. Toyota led the pack with a 14 per cent gain in June.
Figures
Wall Street closed in negative territory: The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 43 points to close at 14,932, the S&P 500 shed 1 point to close at 1,614 and the NASDAQ dropped 1 point to close at 3,433.
European markets followed suit: London’s FTSE lost 4 points, Paris shed 25 points and Frankfurt declined by 73 points.
Asian markets had a mixed session: Tokyo’s Nikkei added 246, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng lost 145 points, and China’s Shanghai Composite lifted by 11 points.
The Australian share market rallied yesterday following the RBA decision to leave rates unchanged at a record low of 2.75 per cent. Stocks reversed the losses seen on Monday to close 2.3 per cent higher. It was the biggest one day gain in over 18 months. The S&P/ASX 200 index closed 124 points up to finish at 4,834.
On the futures market the SPI is 24 points down.
Currencies
The Australian dollar dropped sharply lower after the RBA signalled there could be more interest rate cuts before the end of the year. At7:20AM the Aussie was buying $US91.45 cents, 60.36 Pence Sterling, 92 Yen and 70.47 Euro cents.
Economic news
The Australian Bureau of Statistics will release its retail sales data for May, AIG will put out its Performance of Services index for June and HIA will release its new home sales figures for May
Company news
National Australia Bank Limited
(ASX:NAB) has flagged further potential job cuts as part of its ongoing effort to cut costs, according to media reports. The Finance Sector Union says it’s been informed by NAB that between now and September 30 there will be significant change. NAB shares lifted 1 per cent yesterday to close at $29.26.
BHP Billiton Limited
(ASX:BHP) says its new remote operations centre and trial of driverless trucks will boost productivity without sacrificing jobs. President of iron ore Jimmy Wilson says the miner is trialing the technology now, with a number of trucks operating at its Jimblebar mine. Shares in BHP surged 3.65 per cent yesterday to close at $32.07.
Commodities
Gold is down $12.30 to $US1,243 an ounce for the August contract on Comex. Silver is down $0.27 to $19.31 for September. Copper is down $0.01 at $3.14 a pound. Oil is up $1.61 at US$99.60 a barrel for August light crude in New York.
