@Cleo is away and enjoying a lovely break this week.
Hope you all had a lovely weekend. Here's to a bountiful trading week ahead.
AUS SHARE MARKET SET FOR SLOW START
By AAP | 11.11.2018 12:05 PM
The Australian share market is set to again open lower as the Chinese economy's growth continues to weigh on international markets.
CommSec's chief economist Craig James says the futures market should be more reliable after not being a great indicator in recent times.
He expects a quiet start to the week with the Veterans Day holiday taking place in the United States on Monday.
European, US and Canadian markets were all down on Friday.
"It's down 37 points, the futures market, and that may be the way we start off on Monday morning," Mr James told AAP.
Upcoming data from China on retail sales production and investment will give experts a better handle about how fast the country's economy is growing.
In Australia, good outcomes are expected ahead of new wage price index and unemployment figures being released respectively on Wednesday and Thursday.
"For employment we're looking for a gain of 25,000 and if we get those readings coming through there will be a few more question marks about interest rates and where they are going," Mr James said.
The Australian dollar closed at 72.25 US cents on Friday and Mr James expects it to remain around 71-72 cents until the end of the year.
But that could change depending on developments in the US-China trade dispute.
"If we get a trade resolution then we will start to see the Aussie dollar perk up a bit and it may climb up around 73 or 74 cents," Mr James said.
Mr James says Friday's terrorist attack in Melbourne will do little to affect the markets.
"It's just seen as unfortunately one of those things to have happened but there will be no impact in terms of the economy or financial markets," he said.
More latest news.......
* In the US, producer prices rose by 0.6% in October (forecast +0.2%) to be up 2.9% over the year. Excluding food and energy (core measure), prices rose 0.5% (forecast +0.2%) to be up 2.6% over the year (forecast +2.3%). Consumer sentiment fell from 98.6 to 98.3 in November (forecast 98.0)
* European sharemarkets were mixed on Friday. Disappointing earnings news from Germany's Thyssenkrupp (-9.2%) and luxury goods group Richemont (-6.4%) weighed on investor sentiment. The basic resources sector fell by 3.4% as metal prices fell. The panEuropean STOXX600 index fell by 0.4% but rose slightly on the week. The German Dax was flat (up less than 0.1%) but the UK FTSE index fell by 0.5%. In London trade, shares of Rio Tinto fell by 3.3% and BHP fell by 3.5%.
* US sharemarkets fell on Friday as investors booked profits at the end of the week. But shares rallied from lows in the last 90 minutes of trade. Consumer staples stocks rose but oil, technology and consumer discretionary stocks fell. Investors fretted about the slowing of the Chinese economy. At the close of trade, the Dow Jones was lower by 202 points or 0.8% after being down 308 points. The S&P500 index was down by 0.9% and the Nasdaq index was down by 124 points or 1.7%. But over the week the Dow rose 2.8%, the S&P 500 rose by 2.1% and the Nasdaq gained 0.7%.
* US treasuries were firmer on Friday (yields lower) as investors favoured defensive assets. US 2-year yields fell by 5 points to 2.93% and US 10-year yields fell by 6 points to 3.186%. Over the week US 2-year bond yields rose by 1 point and US 10-year bond yields fell by 2 points.
* Major currencies were generally softer against the US dollar in US and European trade compared with the Asian close. The Euro fell from highs near US$1.1360 to lows near US$1.1315 and was near US$1.1335 in late US trade. The Aussie dollar eased from near US72.50 cents to US72.15 cents and was trading near US72.25 cents in late US trade. And the Japanese yen held between 113.65 yen per US dollar and JPY113.95 was near JPY113.80 in late US trade.
* Global oil prices fell again on Friday with Nymex down for the 10th straight day - the longest losing streak since 1984. Investors worried that a slower Chinese economy could crimp oil demand. And supply concerns eased with eight countries granted a waiver from US sanctions against Iran. Brent crude fell by US47 cents or 0.7% to US$70.18 a barrel and the US Nymex price fell by US48 cents or 0.8% to US$60.19 a barrel. Over the week Brent fell by 3.6% and Nymex fell by 4.7%.
* Base metal prices fell by up to 2.7% on the London Metals Exchange on Friday with nickel down the most and zinc down the least (just -0.1%). Over the week, metals fell by up to 3.9% with nickel down the most. But tin rose 0.4%.
* The gold futures price fell by US$16.50 an ounce or 1.3% to $1,208.60 an ounce. The spot gold price was trading near US$1,209 an ounce in late US trade. Over the week gold fell by US$24.70 or 2%. Iron ore rose by US$1.00 or 1.3% to US$77.25 a tonne. Over the week iron ore rose by US$3.15 or 4.3%. Ahead: In Australia, data on credit and debit card lending is released. In the US, Veterans Day is observed with bond markets closed.
