Australian futures are indicating a drop at the open. Stocks on Wall Street slumped overnight as US Treasury yields reached some of the highest levels in more than a year. The US 10 year Treasury yields climbed to over 1.75 per cent at its session high for the first time since January of last year in the wake of Wednesday’s US Federal Reserve meeting. The Fed pledged to keep interest rates close to zero to 2023 which sparked concern that it may be exposing the market to accelerating inflation. This was accompanied by a move out of growth stocks like tech and into stocks like banks that investors perceive will outperform as the economy recovers. Oil slumped dragging the energy sector almost 3 per cent lower. US President Joe Biden announced that the US had reached its goal of administering 100 million Covid-19 vaccine shots in the first 100 days of his presidency, reaching the goal with 6 weeks to spare. Meanwhile, European Union countries including France, Italy and Germany have restarted the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine rollout, after the European Medicines Agency concluded that the vaccine is “safe and effective,” and the benefits outweigh the risks, though it warned it can’t completely rule out a link to blood clotting side effects.
Local economic news We are expecting the Australian Bureau of Statistics to release preliminary retail trade figures for the month of February.
MarketsWall Street closed lower yesterday: The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.5 per cent, the S&P 500 fell 1.5 per cent and the NASDAQ closed over 3 per cent lower.
European markets closed higher, London’s FTSE added 0.3 per cent, Paris gained 0.1 per cent and Frankfurt closed 1.2 per cent higher.
Asian markets closed higher, Tokyo’s Nikkei gained over 1 per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng added 1.3 per cent and China’s Shanghai Composite closed 0.5 per cent higher.
Taking all of this into equation, the SPI futures are pointing to a 0.6 per cent fall.
Yesterday, the Australian share market closed 0.7 per cent lower at 6746.
Company news Webjet
(ASX:WEB) has purchased a 25 per cent interest in blockchain start up, LockTrip UK Holdings for US$4.1 million. The founders of the company currently retain the other 75 per cent. The deal includes an option that would allow Webjet to increase its holding to 51 per cent. LockTrip provides a B2C hotels marketplace, underpinned by a blockchain platform which is powered by a utility token known as the LOC. Consumers can pay for hotel stays in multiple currencies or in LOC. LockTrip also provides its own decentralised public blockchain, the Hydra chain, powered by the HYDRA coin. Shares in Webjet
(ASX:WEB) closed 0.97 per cent higher at $6.24 yesterday.
Ex-dividend Apiam Animal Health
(ASX:AHX) is paying 1.2 cents fully franked
Australian Leaders Fund
(ASX:ALF) is paying 3.1 cents fully franked
HUB24
(ASX:HUB) is paying 4.5 cents fully franked
K & S Corporation
(ASX:KSC) is paying 3 cents fully franked
Vita Life Sciences
(ASX:VLS) is paying 2.75 cents fully franked
CurrenciesOne Australian Dollar at 7:30 AM was buying 77.61 US cents, 55.68 Pence Sterling, 84.49 Yen and 65.10 Euro cents.
CommoditiesIron Ore has gained 0.2 per cent to US$166.62
Iron Ore futures suggest 0.78 per cent gain.
Gold has gained $7.00 to US$1734 an ounce.
Silver was up $0.03 to US$26.09 an ounce.
Oil was lost $5.33 to US$59.27 a barrel.
Our investor event is on Mar 23, 5 companies presenting starting 12:30pm. Details including registration at the link
https://www.finnewsnetwork.com.au/page/investor-events.
