The Australian share market looks set to open higher this morning. On Wall Street shares rose on hopes the US is moving closer to at least a partial reopening of its economy during the coronavirus pandemic. The Dow was up 2.5% near the closing bell. The International Monetary Fund is warning Australia's economy could shrink by 6.7 per cent this year. Oil slumped further yesterday as OPEC agreed production cuts overshadowed by the coronavirus pandemic's impact on global demand.
Local economic news ABS
Building Activity, December 2019.
Construction Activity: December 2019.
MarketsWall Street closed higher yesterday: The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 2.4 per cent to close 23,950 the S&P 500 added 3.1 per cent to 2846 and the NASDAQ closed up almost 4 per cent to 8516.
European markets closed mixed: London’s FTSE fell 0.9 per cent, Paris gained 0.4 per cent and Frankfurt closed up 1.3 per cent.
Asian markets closed higher: Tokyo’s Nikkei gained 3.1 per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng added 0.6 per cent and China’s Shanghai Composite closed up 1.6 per cent.
Taking all of this into equation, the SPI futures are pointing to a 0.2 per cent gain.
Yesterday, the Australian share market closed 1.9 per cent higher at 5488.
Company news Stockland
(ASX:SGP) has put in place additional unsecured bank debt facilities totalling $350 million. On 29 February 2020 the company had total available liquidity of $850 million, comprising cash and committed undrawn bank debt facilities. Liquidity is further supported by the addition of a new 10 year issue for HK$805m ($180 million equivalent) under their existing Euro MTN programme, also with a marginal cost below the Group’s WACD. Cumulatively this $530 million of additional debt further improves the Group’s available liquidity position to around $1.3 billion as at 9 April 2020. Shares in Stockland
(ASX:SGP) closed 3.64 per cent lower at $2.91 yesterday.
CurrenciesOne Australian Dollar at 7:30 AM was buying 64.44 US cents, 51.05 Pence Sterling, 69.09 Yen and 58.68 Euro cents.
Commodities Iron Ore has gained 1.7 per cent to $87.02
Iron Ore futures suggest a 1.2 per cent gain.
Gold has fallen $5.80 to US$1756 an ounce.
Silver has added $0.50 to US$16.24 an ounce.
Oil was down $1.59 to US$20.82 a barrel.
