Morning traders. Thanks Meme.
Market wrap:
A flat close on Wall Street points to a subdued start here after US deal news helped offset weak housing data and continuing geopolitical tensions.
The September SPI 200 futures contract slipped seven points or 0.1% to 5522 as the big two Australian miners closed mixed in US trade.
The S&P 500 erased an early fall of about 0.6% to end the session less than 0.1% higher at 1,978.88 as two merger announcements helped boost sentiment. The Dow put on 22 points or 0.13% and the Nasdaq lost five points or 0.1%.
‘‘I wouldn’t say that we’re putting on our cowboy hats and saying this is an unstoppable bull, but you have a lot of factors going in the right direction,” Patricia Edwards, managing director of investments at the Private Client Reserve of US Bank Wealth Management, told
Bloomberg. “We’re seeing continued upward momentum in the economy. You’ve got the earnings that have been coming in fairly well, and you’ve got the mergers and acquisitions.”
The market dived at the open following news that sales of existing homes declined last month for the first time in four months, another signal that the housing market is losing momentum. The National Association of Realtors' pending sales index dropped to 102.7 in June from a revised 103.8 in May. The index was significantly stronger at the same time last year at 110.8.
The mood improved as investors digested the latest in a string of mergers this year. Dollar Tree announced it will buy Family Dollar Stores for a 23% premium over the latter's closing share price on Friday. Property website Zillow revealed it will absorb rival Trulia for US$3.5 billion in stock. The deals bring the value of takeovers announced this year to US$1.1 trillion, according to Bloomberg.
International tensions continued to dominate the headlines, with the United Nations Security Council calling for a truce in Gaza and the US announcing it had photographic evidence of Russian troops firing across the border at the Ukraine military.
BHP fell 0.11% and Rio Tinto gained 0.53% in US trade. The spot price for importing iron ore to China was unchanged at US$94.30 a dry tonne yesterday due to a public holiday.
Oil gave back some of Friday's gains amid over-supply concerns in the US. West Texas Intermediate crude oil for September delivery dropped 42 cents or 0.4% to settle at US$101.67 a barrel. The contract was lately at US$101.70.
Gold was little changed amid reports of weak demand from the key markets of China and India. Gold for August delivery settled flat at US$1,303.30 an ounce and was lately 40 cents or less than 0.1% higher at US$1,303.80.
“In view of the numerous geopolitical risks — fighting has increased again recently in the east of Ukraine, for example, and the cease-fire in the Gaza Strip failed to hold — gold is clearly in greater demand again as a safe haven,” Eugen Weinberg, head of commodity research at Commerzbank in Germany, told
MarketWatch. “However, because physical demand in China and India, the two most important gold markets, is subdued at present, the latest price rises were doubtless attributable above all to short-term-oriented market participants."
Copper steadied following Friday's downturn on news that Freeport-McMoRan will resume ore exports from Indonesia. US copper for September delivery was recently up 0.1% at US$3.24 a pound. In London, copper closed flat, aluminium rallied 0.7%, lead 1.5% and tin 0.8%. Zinc eased 0.1% and nickel 2%.
European markets followed Wall Street south on news of the weak housing data, but were recovering at the close. The Stoxx Europe 600 index retreated 0.18% as Germany's DAX lost 0.48%, France's CAC gained 0.33% and Britain's FTSE gave up 0.05%.
The dollar edged back above 94 US cents overnight following news that Chinese industrial profits increased by 11.4% last month. The dollar was lately buying 94.07 US cents. China's Shanghai Composite surged 2.42% yesterday.
TRADING THEMES TODAY
TREADING WATER: The best that can be said about overnight events on Wall Street is that the session ended brighter than it started. There is still plenty of money looking to buy the dips, irrespective of current valuations. The big market-moving US news will come later in the week with the GDP and jobs reports. Financials, industrials, biotechs and oil-related stocks were soft, while gold miners, telecoms and other defensives fared okay. Meanwhile, back home, the graphite boom is looking creaky following significant retraces in key stocks yesterday. The armchair ride is likely over and conditions will be choppier from here. Protect your profits.
ECONOMIC NEWS: Monthly new home sales are due today, exact time uncertain. Consumer confidence is tonight's highlight in the US.
Good luck to all.
