Good Morning Fellow Traders,
Thanks @Trees, @Ravgnome and AM Loungers.
I enjoyed a very peaceful time in FNQ. Great to get back to nature and be amongst loved ones. May have to make this an annual event. Thanks to @taughtbuffet for filling in during my absence even though I did get some trades in and was lurking.
The Australian share market lost ground on a day of low trading volumes as investors hold fire ahead of the imminent G7 meeting in Canada.
The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index closed down 12.1 points, or 0.2 per cent at 6,045.2, while the broader All Ordinaries index was 12.6 points, or 0.2 per cent weaker, at 6,156.8 points.
CMC Markets chief markets strategist Michael McCarthy said trading volumes were down by about a third as investors paused ahead of the European Central Bank meeting next week and the G7 meeting, the two-day summit starting in Quebec on Friday with leaders of the US, France, Germany, the UK, Japan, Italy and the host nation.
"If trade issues become live we could see sharp turnarounds in markets and I think caution ahead of those potentially market-changing events is understandable," he said.
Energy stocks performed well after worries about supply from Venezuela hiked oil prices, with Origin Energy gaining 0.9 per cent to $9.94, Oil Search adding 0.7 per cent to $8.38 and Woodside Petroleum advancing 0.7 per cent to $33.48.
Industrials was the worst-performing sector, with rail freight operator Aurizon Holdings falling 4.2 per cent to a two-year low of $4.14, while Transurban Group retreated 0.8 per cent to $11.67.
Mining giant BHP Billiton dipped 0.03 per cent to $34.07 while rival Rio Tinto rose 0.7 per cent to $86.60 after committing to a $A41 million joint venture with state-owned China Minmetals to explore mineral deposits in China.
The major banks were mixed, with the Commonwealth Bank up 0.2 per cent to $69.37,while Westpac dropped 0.3 per cent to $27.61, ANZ also closed down 0.3 per cent at $26.66 and National Australia Bank softened 0.1 per cent to $26.38.
In companies news, wealth management company AMP climbed 0.3 per cent, to $3.63 despite being removed from the Australian share market's ASX20 index in the quarterly reshuffle of indices.
Infant formula maker Bubs Australia jumped 6.3 per cent to 85 cents after securing a deal that gives it access to Chinese retail giant Alibaba's 580 million monthly users.
Gaming giant Tabcorp rose 2.2 per cent, to $4.58 after confirming it is in talks with News Corp's UK subsidiary to exit the pair's ailing Sun Bets online gambling venture.
Meanwhile, the Australian dollar has faded, falling against a softer US dollar and dropping against the Japanese Yen.
The Aussie was trading at 75.77 US cents at 1700 on Friday, from 76.47 US cents on Thursday.
ON THE ASX:
* The benchmark S&P/ASX200 was down 12.1 points, or 0.2 per cent at 6,045.2 points
* The broader All Ordinaries index was down 12.7 points, or 0.21 per cent, at 6,156.7 points
* The SPI200 futures contract was down 13 points, or 0.21 per cent, at 6,049 points at 1630 AEST.
* National turnover was 3.8 billion securities traded worth $4.8 billion
CURRENCY SNAPSHOT AT 1700 AEST:
One Australian dollar buys:
* 75.77 US cents, from 76.47 on Thursday
* 82.93 Japanese yen, from 84.15 yen
* 64.37 euro cents, from 64.77 euro cents
* 56.50 British pence, from 56.90 pence
* 108.04 NZ cents, from 108.52 cents
GOLD:
The spot price of gold in Sydney at 1700 AEST was $US1,294.599 per fine ounce, from $US1,297.23 on Thursday.
BOND SNAPSHOT AT 1630 AEST:
* CGS 4.50 per cent April 2020, 2.1766pct, from 2.2237pct
* CGS 4.75pct April 2027, 2.7758, from 2.844pct
Sydney Futures Exchange prices:
* March 2018 10-year bond futures contract at 97.22 (implying a yield of 2.78pct), from 97.155 (implying a yield of 2.845pct) on Thursday
* March 2018 3-year bond futures contract at 97.785 (2.215pct), from 97.735 (2.265pct).
(*Bond market closes taken at 1630 AEST previous local session; currency closes taken from 1700 AEST previous local session)
Australian shares look set for a positive start on Tuesday after Wall Street pulled off its third-straight week of gains on Friday despite ongoing tensions between the US and its G7 partners over trade.
However, with another trading day on world markets before the ASX opens following Monday's holiday - and the fallout from the G7 summit in Canada yet to be fully processed - this could change.
Australian share futures were trading 10 points higher on Sunday after the S&P 500 index rose 1.6 per cent and the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 2.8 per cent for the week, along with a rally in the price of gold and copper.
Locally, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index closed down 12.1 points, or 0.2 per cent lower at 6,045.2, on Friday, with the broader All Ordinaries index also down 12.6 points, or 0.2 per cent weaker, at 6,156.8 points.
AMP Capital chief economist Shane Oliver says he doesn't expect the outcome of the G7 summit to be positive following President Trump's late entrance, rants about the US being taken advantage of and early exit.
"It can't have been anything but a bit fractious because it's effectively become, in relation to the trade issue, a matter of the G6 versus the G1," Dr Oliver said on Sunday.
"And as long as there's this tension regarding trade, then that's probably going to be the way it remains.
On a brighter note, continuing strength in the global economy should negate the effect of the ongoing trade dispute, Dr Oliver said.
Tuesday's Trump-Kim summit in Singapore isn't expected to affect markets greatly either but there is a swathe of meetings and economic data due in the week ahead that could.
Locally, Reserve Bank governor Philip Lowe will speak on Wednesday but it's the US Federal Reserve's policy meeting on the same day that looks set to have the greatest effect on markets.
The expected US interest rate rise will put further pressure on the Australian dollar, Dr Oliver said.
On the data front, Thursday's employment figures will be closely watched, with economists expecting a slight drop in the official rate and a gain of around 10,000 jobs.
Tuesday's National Australia Bank business confidence survey is expected to show conditions remain solid, however, Westpac's consumer confidence survey on Wednesday may reflect less positive sentiment among householders.
While April's housing finance figures, due for release on Tuesday, will also be closely watched following a tightening of lending standards by the banks regarding borrowers' income and expenses.
All three major U.S. stock indexes closed slightly higher on Monday as investors eyed the looming United States-North Korea summit on Tuesday in Singapore while shrugging off the weekend’s factious meeting of the Group of Seven nations.
President Donald Trump announced the United States’ withdrawal from the G7’s joint communique following a series of bellicose tweets aimed at Prime Minister Justin Trudeau after the Canadian leader announced retaliatory tariffs on goods imported from its ally to the south.
The markets seemed to take the trade row in stride and looked instead to the impending summit between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, an historic effort to bridge differences and avoid nuclear confrontation on the Korean peninsula.
“With the G7 everyone knew there were issues going into it and probably nothing would get done,” said Bucky Hellwig, senior vice president at BB&T Wealth Management in Birmingham, Alabama. “The focus is on the possibility of something good coming out of the Singapore summit.”
“There’s been a net improvement in the minds of investors in terms of international security, (and) there seems to be a willingness to talk on the part of North Korea.”
Investors are also anticipating this week’s meetings of three of the world’s top central banks: the U.S. Federal Reserve, the European Central Bank and the Bank of Japan.
The Fed is widely expected to raise key interest rates on Wednesday, and on Thursday the ECB is seen moving toward a roll back of its crisis-era stimulus scheme.
“With the (Fed’s) rate increase we’re going to get on Wednesday, we’re going to be close to the core inflation rate,” Hellwig said. “On the other hand, economic numbers look great.”
Yields of U.S. government bonds rose as the Treasury Department saw solid demand at auctions for $54 billion in new three and 10-year notes ahead of the Fed meeting.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average
.DJI rose 5.78 points, or 0.02 percent, to 25,322.31, the S&P 500
.SPX gained 2.97 points, or 0.11 percent, to 2,782 and the Nasdaq Composite
.IXIC added 14.41 points, or 0.19 percent, to 7,659.93.
Of the 11 major sectors of the S&P 500, four closed in negative territory, including real estate .SPLRCR, utilities .SPLRCU, technology .SPLRCT and financials .SPSY.
Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by a 1.23-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 1.19-to-1 ratio favored advancers.
The S&P 500 posted 47 new 52-week highs and 7 new lows; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 170 new highs and 26 new lows.
Volume on U.S. exchanges was 6.05 billion shares, compared to the 6.62 billion average for the full session over the last 20 trading days.
Source: Netwealth Morning Business Roundup
No roadkill, for brekkie althouglh I saw plenty of that on my recent trip away. Instead we have bacon and egg pies and special coffee for @paddington bear.
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Happy trading, play nicely and make informed decisions.
