Good morning traders. Thanks @ttward, @Ravgnome & the aftermarket loungers. US markets all closed pretty much flat, all 3 majors markets down .01% or less. All round a very flat start to the week.
ASX Market Report
The Australian sharemarket has started the week flat, with volumes light as many traders took the week off as the Easter school holidays commenced nationwide.
The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index closed up a tenth of a point, to 6,251.4 points at 1615 AEST on Monday, while the broader All Ordinaries gained 0.9 points, or 0.01 per cent, to 6,347.9.
Miners, health care stocks, utilities and consumer discretionary shares were down, while consumer staples, energy stocks, and the financial sector was up.
Commonwealth Bank gained 0.78 per cent to $72.19, Westpac was up 0.54 per cent to $26.06, ANZ gained 0.88 per cent to $26.25 and NAB was up 0.57 per cent to $24.83.
While the material sector was down collectively 0.35 per cent, Rio Tinto gained 0.25 per cent to $100.75 after it said it was investing $US302 million ($A421m) to expand its Resolution copper project in the US state of Arizona. BHP fell 0.10 per cent to $39.54 and South32 fell 1.13 per cent to $3.50, while Fortescue Metals gained 0.99 per cent to $8.15.
Shares in several companies hit all-time highs including IDP Education (up 0.26 per cent to $15.49), Nearmap (up 1.55 per cent to $3.28), Zip Co (up 12.5 per cent to $2.70), A2Milk (up 4.06 per cent to $14.61) and Bravura Solution (up 7.05 per cent to $5.47) Bell Direct equities analyst Julie Lee said the Zip Co rise was particularly interesting because it also announced its share purchase plan was oversubscribed. The buy-now, pay-later company had sought to raise $5 million from shareholders; it received applications buy $35.8 million.
The energy sector was in the black thanks to higher oil prices, with Santos, Oil Search and Origin Energy all trading between 0.55 and 1.28 per cent higher. Caltex lost 1.16 per cent to $27.35 after it announced the completion of a $260 million off-market buy-back, while Woodside Petroleum gained 0.22 per cent to $35.84.
Gold miners were hit hard as precious metal prices softened in the face of strong overseas equities markets.
Health care shares dipped 0.71 per cent, while CSL was down 1.17 per cent to $195.54.
Ms Lee said she expects the Australian sharemarket to remain quiet until May 1, when ANZ will kick off bank reporting season by announcing its half-year results, followed by NAB the next day and Macquarie Group the following day. "The first week of May will all be about banking stocks," she said.
The Aussie dollar is buying 71.69 US cents, from 71.61 US cents on Friday.
ON THE ASX:
* The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was up 0.1 points to 6,251.4 points at 1630 AEST on Monday.
* The All Ordinaries was up 0.9 points, or 0.01 per cent, to 6,347.9.
* At 1630 AEST, the SPI200 futures index flat at 6,240.
CURRENCY SNAPSHOT AT 1630 AEST:
One Australian dollar buys:
* 71.68 US cents, from 71.61 US on Friday
* 80.22 Japanese yen, from 79.70 yen
* 63.36 euro cents, from 63.15 euro cents
* 54.80 British pence, from 54.56 pence
* 105.86 NZ cents, from 105.88 cents
Global Markets Report
Underwhelming quarterly results from U.S. banks limited gains in world stocks on Monday, and oil prices fell after Russia said it and OPEC may decide to boost production.
The U.S. benchmark S&P 500 stock index dipped after Goldman Sachs Group and Citigroup Inc both reported quarterly revenue below consensus estimates, though the index pared losses in afternoon trading.
Wall Street’s slight drop kept MSCI’s gauge of global equities, which has risen more than 14% this year, largely unchanged. It inched up 0.02% after trading in negative territory for much of Monday’s session. “Right now, the market is sitting tight,” said Keith Lerner, chief market strategist at SunTrust Advisory Services in Atlanta. “There’s not really a reason to be overly aggressive or defensive until we see more earnings.”
The U.S. earnings season is being used to gauge the strength of corporate America in the face of major challenges to growth. While U.S. corporate earnings are widely expected to drop year-over-year for the first quarter, analysts anticipate an increase in revenue. As a result, equity investors will likely follow top-line results closely, said Oliver Pursche, chief market strategist at Bruderman Asset Management in New York. “People are focusing on the revenue numbers, and they’re virtually in line if not slightly disappointing so far,” he said.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 27.53 points, or 0.1%, to 26,384.77, the S&P 500 lost 1.83 points, or 0.06%, to 2,905.58 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 8.15 points, or 0.1 percent, to 7,976.01.
Upbeat news on U.S.-China trade talks cushioned the disappointing revenue reports. U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said he hoped the trade talks were approaching a final lap. Reuters reported on Sunday that U.S. negotiators have tempered demands that China curb industrial subsidies as a condition for a trade deal after strong resistance from Beijing.
The trade optimism helped European equities edge upward, with the STOXX 600 closing up 0.15%. Oil prices, however, fell after Russia’s finance minister said Russia and OPEC may decide to boost production given record output from the United States.
Brent crude futures settled at $71.18 a barrel, down 37 cents for a 0.52% loss. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures settled at $63.40 a barrel, down 49 cents for a 0.77% loss. Monday’s trading marked a pause after last week’s rally, when Brent broke through the $70 threshold and U.S. crude posted six straight weeks of gains for the first time since early 2016.
This week, investors across asset classes will examine data for signs of whether a cooling in the global economy is turning around. The data includes Germany’s ZEW survey and Chinese gross domestic product due on Wednesday. U.S. retail sales and housing data, which will give a glimpse into whether the U.S. economy is withstanding the broader slowdown, are also scheduled for release this week. “Every data release will be monitored and scrutinized by analysts to see if there are stronger underpinnings for the economy,” said Quincy Krosby, chief market strategist at Prudential Financial in Newark, New Jersey. “Even if there is an earnings recession, it’s a positive if we see demand picking up.”
Long-dated U.S. Treasury yields fell from four-week highs on Monday, while the dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of six other currencies, fell 0.04%.
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A very sad sight this morning with Notre Dame on fire in the heart of Paris.
