Australian shares gave up early gains as an apparent terrorist atrocity in the UK dampened Asian markets and US equity futures.
At 1pm EST the ASX 200 was ahead two points or less than 0.1% at 5773 as positive overnight leads from the US were offset by news that at least 19 people were dead after a bomb exploded at a pop concert at Manchester Arena. UK police were reported to be treating the explosion as an act of terrorism.
S&P 500 futures were lately down two and a half points or 0.1% as the UK attack exacerbated weakness following a newspaper report that President Trump pressured intelligence chiefs to exonerate his election campaign team of colluding with Russia. Read more here. The index rallied 0.52% overnight. Dow futures were lately off 16 points or 0.08%.
"We could see a bout of nervousness re: the terror threat, but it's likely to be minor," Shane Oliver, head of investment strategy at AMP Capital, told Reuters. "Ever since 9/11 the impact on markets from terrorist events has been declining."
Gold stocks rallied 1.4%, IT 1% and health 0.7%. The financial sector declined 0.3% and materials 0.2%.
Asian markets marked time. China's Shanghai Composite edged up 0.01%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng added 0.26% and Japan's Nikkei dipped 0.12%.
Crude oil futures dropped 18 cents or 0.35% this morning to US$50.95 a barrel. Gold futures rose 60 cents or 0.05% to US$1,262 an ounce. The dollar was buying 74.98 US cents.
Trading: hardly a sniff all morning. Following events in Manchester with sad heart.
