Australian shares are set for a modest rise at the open following wild swings on Wall Street overnight as investors weigh the odds of further potential government stimulus. US Federal Reserve Bank Chairman, Jerome Powell testified in a hearing before the Senate Banking Committee this week. He noted that as households chew through the remainder of their government stimulus and employment benefits there is a risk they will “have to cut back on spending and maybe lose their home or their lease”. He warned that the downside risk of not taking further action to prop up the US economy may be seen in the “not-too-distant future”.
Local economic newsToday we are expecting the Australian Bureau of Statistics to release the preliminary international trade figures for the month of August.
International MarketsWall Street closed higher yesterday: The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 0.2 per cent higher at 26,815 the S&P 500 gained 0.3 per cent to 3247 and the NASDAQ added almost 0.4 per cent to 10,672.
European markets closed lower: London’s FTSE lost 1.3 per cent, Paris dipped 0.8 per cent and Frankfurt down 0.3 per cent.
Asian markets closed mixed: Tokyo’s Nikkei shed 1.1 per cent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng dropped 1.8 per cent, falling to its lowest close level since late May and China’s Shanghai Composite was up 0.2 per cent.
Taking all of this into equation, the SPI futures are pointing to a 7 point gain.
Yesterday, the Australian share market closed 0.8 per cent lower at 5875.
Company news Gold Road Resources
(ASX:GOR) has suffered an interruption to production at its Gruyere Gold Mine. The mine is a 50:50 joint venture with Gruyere Mining Company. A ball mill motor bearing failure at the mine caused a 7 day interruption to production. Due to the failure and additional plant downtime early in the quarter, Gold Road has revised gold produced for the September 2020 quarter down to between 53,000 and 57,000 ounces. Shares in Gold Road Resources
(ASX:GOR) closed 6.4 per cent lower at $1.46.
Renewable energy company Infigen
(ASX:IFN) has entered into a $457.4 million security holder loan agreement with Iberdrola Financiacion SAU. The loan is unsecured and non-amortising. It will mature in three years. Infigen will use the proceeds to payout some of its existing corporate facilities. Infigen’s Independent Chairman, Len Gill believes that “with the benefit of Iberdrola’s strong financial position and long-term investment horizon, [it] is well positioned to substantially grow its sales of reliable and affordable clean energy”. Shares in Infigen Energy
(ASX:IFN) last traded at 92 cents.
Ex-dividends Atlas Arteria
(ASX:ALX) is paying 11 cent unfranked.
Regis Resources
(ASX:RRL) is paying 8 cents fully franked.
CurrenciesOne Australian Dollar at 7:00AM was buying 70.55 US cents, 55.34 Pence Sterling, 74.41 Yen and 60.42 Euro cents.
Commodities Iron Ore futures are down 0.3 per cent.
Gold has gained $3.50 to US$1872 an ounce.
Silver has added $0.24 to US$23.25 an ounce.
Oil has gained $0.22 to US$40.44 a barrel.
