The Australian share market looks set to open higher this morning despite shares falling at the end of trade in New York. New Zealand has been rocked by four new coronavirus cases after being Covid-19 free for 102 days. The infected people are from the same family in south Auckland – their source of infection is unknown. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has put Auckland into level three restrictions for three days as a "precautionary approach". Gold has dropped over US$100, facing its worse day in seven years.
Local Economic NewsABS will release the wage price index for the second quarter.
MarketsWall Street closed lower yesterday: The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.4 per cent to 27,687 the S&P 500 fell 0.8 per cent to 3334 and the NASDAQ closed 1.7 per cent lower at 10,783.
European markets closed higher, London’s FTSE added 1.7 per cent, Paris gained 2.4 per cent and Frankfurt closed 2 per cent higher.
Asian markets closed mixed, Tokyo’s Nikkei gained 1.9 per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng added 2.1 per cent and China’s Shanghai Composite closed 1.2 per cent lower.
Taking all of this into equation, the SPI futures are pointing to a 0.2 per cent gain.
Yesterday, the Australian share market closed 0.5 per cent higher at 6139.
Company newsCommonwealth Bank
(ASX:CBA) has reported an 11.3 per cent drop in full-year profit to $7.3 billion of the 12 months ending June 30. Statutory NPAT including discontinued operations was $9.6 billion, up 12.4 per cent on FY19. In FY20, statutory NPAT included significant gains realised on the sale of businesses. The bank declared a dividend of $2.98 per share, fully franked that’s 31 per cent up on FY19. Shares in Commonwealth Bank of Australia
(ASX:CBA) closed 0.97 per cent higher at $74.70 yesterday.
CurrenciesOne Australian Dollar at 7:50 AM was buying 71.45 US cents, 54.75 Pence Sterling, 76.11 Yen and 60.85 Euro cents.
Commodities Iron Ore gained 1.6 per cent to US$121.09.
Iron Ore futures suggest a 2.5 per cent fall.
Gold has dropped $117.90 to US$1922 an ounce.
Silver was down $4.40 to US$24.86 an ounce.
Oil was down $0.33 to US$41.61 a barrel.
You can find details on our website about this month’s
Investor Event on 25th August.
