Following negative leads from US markets, the Australian share market looks set to open lower this morning. In the US the Federal Reserve, in a surprise move, cut its benchmark interest rate by 50 basis points to help with the economic stress caused by the coronavirus. Wall Street initially rallied but then experienced a drop. Back home the RBA cut rates to 0.5 per cent. On the commodities front, oil has added slightly and gold is up.
Local economic newsAiG performance of construction for February
MarketsWall Street closed lower yesterday: The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 2.9 per cent to close at 25,917, the S&P 500 fell 2.8 per cent to 3003 and the NASDAQ dropped almost 3 per cent to 8684.
European markets closed higher: London’s FTSE added almost 1 per cent, Paris gained 1.1 per cent and Frankfurt was also up 1.1 per cent.
Asian markets closed mixed: Tokyo’s Nikkei was down 1.2 per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was down 0.03 per cent and China’s Shanghai Composite gained 0.7 per cent.
Taking all of this into equation, the SPI futures are pointing to a 1.3 per cent fall.
Yesterday, the Australian share market closed 0.7 per cent higher at 6436.
Company newsWestgold Resources
(ASX:WGX) reports that underground sub-level cave stoping has recommenced at the Cue Gold Operations (CGO) Big Bell underground mine. The first mass cave blast was initiated on Monday 2 March, 2020 and paves the way for the planned ramp up in mine output that targets steady-state production rates by the end of CY 2020. Westgold’s Executive Chairman, Peter Cook said: “This is a major milestone for Westgold and a terrific achievement by our CGO team.
Shares in Westgold Resources
(ASX:WGX) closed flat at $1.94 yesterday.
Ex-DividendsAustralian Ethical Investment Limited
(ASX:AEF) is paying 2.5 cents fully franked
Austin Engineering
(ASX:ANG) is paying 0.2 cents fully franked
Accent Group Ltd
(ASX:AX1) is paying 5.25 cents fully franked
Bingo Industries Ltd
(ASX:BIN) is paying 2.2 cents fully franked
Big River Industries Ltd
(ASX:BRI) is paying 2.4 cents fully franked
Bailador Technology Investments Ltd
(ASX:BTI) is paying 2.5 cents fully franked
Blackwall Limited
(ASX:BWF) is paying 2 cents fully franked
Cordish Dixon Private Equity Fund I
(ASX:CD1) is paying 40 cents unfranked
Cordish Dixon Private Equity Fund II
(ASX:CD2) is paying 12 cents unfranked
Event Hospitality and Entertainment Ltd
(ASX:EVT) is paying 21 cents fully franked
Genworth Mortgage Insurance Australia
(ASX:GMA) is paying 7.5 cents fully franked
HiTech Group Australia Limited
(ASX:HIT) is paying 5.5 cents fully franked
Home Consortium Ltd
(ASX:HMC) is paying 4.5 cents fully franked
Hansen Technologies
(ASX:HSN) is paying 3 cents 53 per cent franked
Infomedia Ltd
(ASX:IFM) is paying 2.15 cents 70 per cent franked
InvoCare Limited
(ASX:IVC) is paying 23.5 cents fully franked
Link Administration Holdings Ltd
(ASX:LNK) is paying 6.5 cents fully franked
MNF Group Ltd
(ASX:MNF) is paying 2.5 cents fully franked
PM Capital Asian Opportunities Fund Ltd
(ASX:PAF) is paying 1.5 cents fully franked
Pengana Capital
(ASX:PCG) is paying 4 cents 50 per cent franked
PM Capital Global Opportunities Fund Ltd
(ASX:PGF) is paying 2 cents fully franked
Perpetual Limited
(ASX:PPT) is paying 105 cents fully franked
Prophecy International Holdings Limited
(ASX:PRO) is paying 0.5 cents unfranked
Service Stream
(ASX:SSM) is paying 4 cents fully franked
Treasury Wine Estate
(ASX:TWE) is paying 20 cents fully franked
Woolworths Group Ltd
(ASX:WOW) is paying 46 cents fully franked
CurrenciesOne Australian Dollar at 8:50 AM was buying 65.85 US cents, 51.40 Pence Sterling, 70.51 Yen and 58.96 Euro cents.
Commodities Iron Ore has lost 0.4 per cent to $88.55.
Iron Ore futures suggest a 0.9 per cent gain.
Gold has added $43.40 to US$1638 an ounce.
Silver has gained $0.45 to US$17.18 an ounce.
Oil was up $0.58 to US$47.33 a barrel.
