Tech sell off continues on Wall Street: Local markets set for weak start

Market Reports

by Anna Napoli

The local sharemarket is set for a weak start this morning following negative overseas leads on the back of rising concerns about the pace of the global economic recovery from COVID-19. The materials sector may help to prop up the local market on the back of stronger gold, iron ore and base metal prices. Declining coronavirus numbers in Victoria and NSW could also provide some encouragement to investors. In the US stocks fell on Friday to end a rollercoaster week as investors continued to sell-off shares of tech giants. The major averages fell for a third straight week, notching their longest weekly losing streaks since last year. Shares of Apple dropped more than 3 per cent on Friday. Microsoft and Alphabet pulled back by 1.2 per cent and 2.4 per cent, respectively. Netflix dipped 0.1 per cent. Facebook fell 0.9 per cent. Big Tech was also down broadly week to date. Facebook and Amazon have each dropped more than 5% this week. Alphabet, Netflix, Apple and Microsoft are also down sharply over that time period. For the month, all six stocks are down at least 10%. European markets, meanwhile, also ended last week in the red as a second wave of COVID-19 pushed hard-hit countries including Spain, France and Greece into fresh lockdowns.

Economic news

On Tuesday Reserve Bank Deputy Governor Guy Debelle gives a speech on The Australian Economy and Monetary Policy” Also on Tuesday, weekly data on credit and debit card spending from CBA, consumer sentiment from ANZ-Roy Morgan and the ABS payroll jobs and wages figures are all released. On Wednesday the week’s stand-out data is released – the preliminary retail trade figures for August. Also on Wednesday, skilled internet job vacancies data is issued for August. On Thursday, the ABS issues three publications: the June quarter “Finance and Wealth” report; population statistics for March; and detailed Labour Force figures for August. Rounding out the week on Friday, August preliminary international trade data is out from the ABS.

Markets

To the figures from around the globe: Wall Street closed lower on Friday: The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.9 per cent to close at 27,657, the S&P 500 fell 1.1 per cent to close at 3319 and the NASDAQ closed 1.1 per cent lower at 10,793.

European markets closed lower: London’s FTSE lost 0.7 per cent, Paris fell 1.2 per cent and Frankfurt closed 0.7 per cent lower.

Asian markets closed higher, Nikkei added 0.2 per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gained 0.5 per cent and China’s Shanghai Composite closed 2.1 per cent higher.

Taking all of this into equation, the SPI futures are pointing to a 0.6 per cent fall.

On Friday, the Australian share market fell 19 points to close at 5865

Company news

President Donald Trump said Saturday he has approved a deal in principle in which Oracle and Walmart will partner with the viral video-sharing app TikTok in the U.S., allowing the popular app to avoid a shutdown.

Ex-Div

Adbri Limited (ASX:ABC) is paying 4.75 cents fully franked
Briscoe Limited (ASX:BGP) is paying 8.285 cents unfranked

Currencies

One Australian Dollar at 7:40 AM was buying 73.01 US cents, 56.45 Pence Sterling, 76.32 Yen and 61.61 Euro cents.

Commodities

Iron Ore has gained 2.1 per cent to US$124.90.
Iron Ore futures suggest a 0.9 per cent gain.
Gold has gained $12.20 to US$1962 an ounce.
Silver was up $0.03 cents to US$27.13 an ounce.
Oil has added $0.14 to US$41.11 a barrel.

Subscribe to our Daily Newsletter?

Would you like to receive our daily news to your inbox?