Yellen gives approval for more US stimulus: ASX poised to open higher

Market Reports

by Rachael Jones

Following a boost on US markets overnight, the Australian share market looks set to open higher this morning. Janet Yellen, President-elect Joe Biden’s choice for Treasury secretary, is in favour of more stimulus to help the US economy recovery from the pandemic. She also said the US could afford a higher corporate tax rate if it coordinates with other economies around the globe. Back home, some of the larger banks will stop giving automatic mortgage holidays to home owners struggling due to the pandemic.

Local economic news 

Westpac consumer confidence January

Markets

Wall Street closed higher: The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.4 per cent to close at 30,931, the S&P500 added 0.8 per cent to close at 3,799 and the NASDAQ closed 1.5 per cent higher at 113,197.

European markets closed lower yesterday: London’s FTSE lost 0.1 per cent, Paris lost 0.3 per cent and Frankfurt closed 0.2 per cent lower.

Asian markets closed mixed yesterday: Tokyo’s Nikkei added almost 1.4 per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gained 2.7 per cent and China’s Shanghai Composite lost 0.8 per cent.

Taking all of this into equation the SPI futures are pointing to a 12 point gain. Yesterday we closed 1.2 per cent higher or 80 points higher at 6,743.

Company news

Yancoal (ASX:YAL) reports that their run of mine coal production was down 3 per cent from the third quarter in 2020 and their average realised price for 2020 was $82 a tonne, compared to $111 a tonne in 2019. Coal prices continued to recover through 4Q 2020, supported by winter demand in the northern hemisphere. The company says it expects a rebound in demand for coal-fired electricity generation in 2021 as global economic conditions are set to improve. Shares in Yancoal (ASX:YAL) closed 0.4 per cent higher at $2.37 yesterday.

Currencies

One Australian Dollar at 8:20 AM was buying 76.98US cents, 56.45 Pence Sterling, 79.98 Yen and 63.48 Euro cents.

Commodities

Iron Ore futures suggest a fall of 0.5 per cent gain.
Gold has gained $8.20 to US$1838 an ounce.
Silver has gained $0.35 to US$25.22 an ounce.
Oil has added $0.65 to US$53.01 a barrel. 

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