The Australian share market looks set to open higher this morning with technology stocks leading Wall Street and global markets seeing a rise over night. Facebook, Amazon and Microsoft made gains and Netflix shares rose after a pleasing analyst report. The US Fed Reserve has completed a 2 year review into how to meet the goals of steady inflation and maximum employment. Fed Chair Powell is due to speak on this review. Back home, the Australian dollar is higher at US72.34.
Local Economic NewsPrivate New Capital Expenditure and Expected Expenditure, June 2020.
Business Indicators, Business Impacts of Covid-19, August 2020.
MarketsWall Street closed higher yesterday: The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.3 per cent to 28,332, the S&P 500 gained 1 per cent to 3,479 and the NASDAQ closed 1.7 per cent higher at 11,665..
European markets closed higher, London’s FTSE added 0.1 per cent, Paris gained 0.8 per cent and Frankfurt closed 1 per cent higher.
Asian markets closed mixed, Tokyo’s Nikkei fell 0.03 per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng added 0.02 and China’s Shanghai Composite closed 1.3 per cent lower.
Taking all of this into equation, the SPI futures are pointing to a 15 point rise gain.
Yesterday, the Australian share market closed 45 points lower, that was 0.7 per cent lower at 6,116..
Company newsAfterpay’s
(ASX:APT) released it fourth quarter performance results today reporting a 73 per cent lift in EBITDA. Active customers more than doubled in that time with an average of 17.3 thousand new customers per day in FY20 increasing to 20.5 thousand in Q4.Afterpay's earnings rose to $44.4 million from $25.7 million as global sales increased 112 per cent to $11.1 billion. Shares in Afterpay
(ASX:APT) closed 1.9 per cent lower at $90.72.
Reporting SeasonOther companies reporting today include Woolworths
(ASX:WOW), Ramsey Healthcare
(ASX:RHC), Galaxy Resources
(ASX:GXY) and Freedom Foods Group
(ASX:FNP).
CurrenciesOne Australian Dollar at 7:45 AM was buying 72.36 US cents, 54.80 Pence Sterling, 76.70 Yen and 61.16 Euro cents.
Commodities Iron Ore futures suggest a 1 per cent gain.
Gold has added $29 to US$1,953 an ounce.
Silver was up $1.18 to US$27.60 an ounce.
Oil was up $0.04 to US$43.39 a barrel.
