Following negative leads from US markets, the Australian share market looks set to open lower this morning as markets continue to be rocked by the coronavirus. Multiple cases have now been confirmed in numerous countries including here, the US and even Nepal. Several companies, including Walt Disney in China, are suspending operations until further notice during the normally festive Lunar New Year holiday to prevent the outbreak from spreading. Starbucks and McDonald’s also closed stores in Hubei province. On the commodities front, oil dropped below $60 for the first time in three months. Gold rose.
Local economic news Wednesday
Consumer Price Index, Australia, December 2019.
Thursday
The Australian Bureau of Statistics will release figures for International Merchandise Trade: for December 2019. And International Trade Price Indexes, December 2019.
Friday
Producer price indexes, December 2019.
MarketsWall Street closed lower yesterday: The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 1.6 per cent to close at 28,536, the S&P 500 also lost 1.6 per cent to close at 3,244 and the NASDAQ lost 1.9 per cent to close at 9,139.
European markets closed lower: London’s FTSE lost 2.3 per cent, Paris lost 2.7 per cent and so did Frankfurt.
In Asia Tokyo’s Nikkei closed 2 per cent lower, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng and China’s Shanghai Composite are closed due to the Lunar Holiday.
Taking all of this into equation, the ASX futures are pointing to a 89 points fall. On Friday the Australian share market closed 3 points higher with the S&P/ASX 200 Index closing at 7.091.
Company news Following recent market speculation, Bingo Industries
(ASX:BIN) today advised that the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) is conducting an investigation into the Building and Demolition (B&D) waste sector in New South Wales. The investigation started in late 2019 and relates to the price adjustments in the New South Wales B&D waste sector, which were implemented in July 2019. Bingo is one of a number of market participants involved in the investigation. Bingo reaffirms its FY20 underlying EBITDA guidance range of $159 - $164 million as announced to the market on 13 November 2019. Shares in Bingo
(ASX:BIN) closed flat on Friday at $2.85.
CurrenciesOne Australian Dollar at 9:00 AM was buying 67.62 US cents, 51.83 Pence Sterling, 73.63 Yen and 61.37 Euro cents.
Commodities Gold has gained $9.20 to US$1,587 an ounce.
Silver has lost $0.02 to US$18.09 an ounce.
Oil has fallen by $1.36 to US$52.83 a barrel.
