The Australian share market is set open higher thanks to a tech stock rally and higher oil prices, which also fueled the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq to close at record highs.
Crude Oil settled 2.1 per cent higher to a 2-week elevation, after Saudi Arabia and Russia said supply cuts should be extended for nine months until March 2018.
The S&P climbed half- a-per cent with Energy and Materials leading the charge, while tech giants like Facebook and Alphabet took the lead on the Nasdaq, with Apple shares hitting record highs.
The Dow Jones also closed higher, soaring over 85 points with Cisco Sytems’ shares rising on the back of a massive cyber attack.
Gold and Silver also firmed higher.
US economic newsThe National Association of Home Builders reported US home builder sentiment scored 70 in May. The index was 58 in May last year. Anything above 50 is considered a positive sentiment reading.
Manufacturing in New York has declined for the first time in seven months as new orders fell. The Federal Reserve Bank of New York says, its US Empire Manufacturing survey fell to -1 in May, from 5.2 in April,
Local economic news The Reserve Bank will release its recent Board minutes. Some economists say the minutes will have a similar upbeat tone to the last Statement of Monetary Policy, where the RBA upgraded their near-term growth forecasts.
We will also learn about the new vehicles sales for April.
MarketsWall Street closed higher on Monday: The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.4 per cent to close at 20,982, the S&P 500 rose 0.5 per cent to close at 2,402 and the NASDAQ advanced 0.5 per cent to close at 6,150.
European markets closed higher: London’s FTSE gained 0.3 per cent, Paris added 0.2 per cent and Frankfurt rose 0.3 per cent.
Asian markets closed mixed: Tokyo’s Nikkei fell 0.1 per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng added 0.9 per cent, and China’s Shanghai Composite lifted 0.2 per cent.
And back home, the Australian share market closed flat yesterday. The S&P/ASX 200 Index closed 1.5 points higher to 5,838. On the futures market the SPI is 17 points higher.
Company newsNEXTDC Limited
(ASX:NXT) has received $300 million in subscriptions for its 4-year, senior, unsecured notes paying 6.25 per cent. The telecommunications and hybrid cloud solution provider says, it will use the net cash proceeds raised (Notes III) to redeem the balance of its remaining Notes I and Notes II securities, at the optional redemption date of 16 June 2017. The excess cash will be used for general business and financing purposes. Shares in NEXTDC Limited
(ASX:NXT) last traded 1.62 per cent higher to $4.38.
Ex-dividendsFour companies are going ex-dividend today,
Cbg Capital Limited
(ASX:CBC) is paying 1 cent fully franked
Macquarie Group Limited
(ASX:MQG) is paying $2.80 45% franked
National Australia Bank
(ASX:NAB) is paying 99 cents fully franked and
WAM Active
(ASX:WAA) is paying 2.75 cents fully franked.
Currencies The Australian Dollar at 7:30AM was buying 74.16 US cents, 57.50 Pence Sterling, 84.23 Yen and 67.55 Euro cents.
Commodities Gold has gained $2.80 to $US1,231 an ounce.
Silver has added 22 cents to $US16.62 an ounce.
And Oil has advanced 97 cents to $US49.14 a barrel.