The Australian share market is poised for a positive start to the week, with the SPI futures tipping a gain of over 20 points, after Wall Street closed mostly higher on Friday, and also closed off a strong first-half year.
The S&P closed in the black with energy, consumer discretionary leading the charge. But zooming out, the index gained 8.3 per cent this year, tallying its best first-half year gains since 2013.
On Friday, the Dow Jones gained 63 points, with Nike adding the most steam. While the tech heavy Nasdaq closed just shy of the breakeven mark.
This year though, the Nasdaq easily blew the Dow and S&P out of the water, as the Nasdaq surged 14.1 per cent, positing its biggest first-half year gain since 2009.
European markets closed lower after news that several British banks stopped trading Qatari currency or riyals, for retail customers.
Asian stocks also closed mostly in the red, despite China's manufacturing activity accelerating faster than expected in June, proving that the world's second-largest economy is not slowing down.
US economic newsUS Department of Commerce reported personal incomes rose 0.4 per cent in May, beating forecast of a 0.3 per cent rise.
Consumer spending, which accounts for more than two-thirds of US economic activity, rose 0.1 per cent in May, while consumer prices outside food and energy saw an uptick of 1.4 per cent over the 12 months to May 2017.
The rise in incomes and spending and yet cooling inflation, all point to a slow-but-steady economic expansion, which could lead the Federal Reserve to raise rates by the end of year.
Local economic news - week ahead:Today CoreLogic kicks off the reporting with home prices for June. We are expecting to see a rise of 1.5%, based on current data.
We will learn about the Performance of Manufacturing for June with a reading from the Institute of Supply Management (ISM). Australia’s manufacturing sector is relatively healthy as the last gauge from Australian Industry Group shows activity slightly eased in May from 15-year highs.
We will also learn about the building approvals for May. Although the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) measure month-to-month can be volatile, it is the best gauge of future construction, so the data is closely watched.
Also out Today, is the ANZ Job ads for June. ANZ job ads hit fresh 6-year highs in May and have lifted in four of the five past months.
On Tuesday, the RBA Board will hold their all importantly monthly meeting – but were are not likely to see a change in interest rates.
The ABS will also give us a health check on retail trade for May.
And finishing the economic week on Thursday, the ABS will announce the international trade import and export figures for May
MarketsWall Street closed mostly higher on Friday: The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.3 per cent to close at 21,350, the S&P 500 added 0.2 per cent to close at 2,423 and the NASDAQ fell 0.06 per cent to close at 6,140.
European markets closed lower: London’s FTSE fell 0.5 per cent, Paris lost 0.7 per cent and Frankfurt also shed 0.7 per cent.
Asian markets closed mixed: Tokyo’s Nikkei fell 0.9 per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng lost 0.8 per cent, and China’s Shanghai Composite gained 0.1 per cent.
And back home, the Australian share market closed in the red on Friday: At the closing bell, The S&P/ASX 200 Index closed 97 points lower or 1.7 per cent lower at 5,721. On the futures market the SPI is 21 points up.
Company news Northern Minerals
(ASX:NTU) has granted a Hong Kong based fund, AMC Wanhai Securities a requested funding extension, for the underwriting or subscribing to a $10 million placement. The heavy rare earths developer says AMC subscribed and was issued with about 14.8 million shares, amounting to $2 million. That left AMC with an obligation to underwrite or subscribe to about 59.3 million shares worth about $8 million by 30 June 2017. However, AMC was granted its requested extension until 18 August 2017 to complete the remaining subscription. If AMC fails to comply with the extension terms, it will be indebted to Northern Minerals by $8 million. Shares in Northern Minerals
(ASX:NTU) last traded at $0.11.
To ex-dividendsTwo companies are going ex-dividend today:
Southern Gold
(ASX:SAU) is paying 3 cents unfranked.
Thorn Group Limited
(ASX:TGA) is paying 2.5 cents fully franked.
Currencies One Australian Dollar at 7:30AM was buying 76.84 US cents, 59.03 Pence Sterling, 86.25 Yen and 67.29 Euro cents.
Commodities Gold has lost $3.50 to $US1,242 an ounce.
Silver has slid 3 cents to $US16.63 an ounce.
And Oil has gained $1.11 to $US46.04 a barrel.
