The US markets were closed yesterday for the Thanksgiving holiday after finishing mixed on Wednesday. The Nasdaq finished in record territory with tech stocks rising. The Dow and S&P 500, however, dropped after the previous day’s gains.
The ASX200 futures are predicting a lower start to the day after yesterday’s flat finish. Iron ore has dropped after yesterday’s 3 per cent spike which lifted the Materials and Energy sector, with the fall likely to take its toll on the sectors today.
Chinese markets plummeted yesterday, with the Shanghai composite dropping more than 2 per cent, the biggest one-day drop in almost a year, with concerns over the government clamping down on market speculation.
Oil is nearly a per cent higher ahead of global OPEC talks to take place next week. Gold and silver are tracking lower, and iron ore is sitting flat.
FiguresEuropean markets closed mixed: London’s FTSE down 0.02 per cent, Paris gained 0.5 per cent and Frankfurt dropped 0.1 per cent.
Asian markets closed lower: Tokyo’s Nikkei was closed, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng dropped 0.99 per cent, and China’s Shanghai Composite dropped 2.3 per cent.
And back home, the Australian share market closed flat yesterday: The S&P/ASX 200 Index finished at 5,986.
On the futures market the SPI is 7 points down.
Company newsSyrah Resources
(ASX:SYR) announced the first production of bagged saleable flake graphite from the Balama Project in Mozambique, bringing major construction to near completion. The grade of the flaked graphite is in excess of 95 per cent fixed carbon. Managing Director and CEO Shaun Verner said this is a significant achievement for Syrah and its subsidiary Twigg, with the development of Balama achieved through dedicated construction and its operations team, and support from local communities, investors, suppliers, the government and other stakeholders. Shares in Syrah Resources
(ASX:SYR) closed 0.9 per cent lower to $4.39.
Ex-dividends4 companies are going ex-dividend today. Aus Gov Index
(ASX:AQF) is paying 3.06 cents, Dulux Group
(ASX:DLX) is paying 13.5 cents, Ruralco
(ASX:RHL) is paying 6 cents and Whitefield
(ASX:WHF) is paying 3.56 cents all fully franked.
CurrenciesOne Australian Dollar at 8:40AM was buying 76.26 US cents, 57.32 Pence Sterling, 84.84 Yen and 64.39 Euro cents.
Commodities Gold has lost $1.50 to $US1,295 an ounce.
Silver has lost $0.04 to $US17.18 an ounce.
Oil has gained $0.54 to $US58.56 a barrel.
