Australia

The Australian share market is expected to open slightly lower, following falls in US stocks and base metals prices. At 7am (AEST), the Australian share price futures index was down 10 points, or 0.17 per cent, at 5844.The share market yesterday closed higher for a fifth straight session, led by the mining and energy sectors.
The benchmark S&P/ASX200 was up 19.6 points, or 0.33 per cent, at 5881 points, while the broader All Ordinaries index was up 20 points, or 0.34 per cent, at 5976.3 points.

The Australian economy added only 4900 jobs in March, about a quarter of analysts’ estimates. Unemployment held at 5.5 per cent. Australian government debt has risen faster than that of any other country, IMF data shows.The RBA is seeking a 5 per cent unemployment rate before it acts. The currency dipped on the result. It is worth 77.25 US cents.

Asia

Resource stocks rallied in Asia on Thursday as oil prices hit four-year highs, spurring a rebound across commodities, though the IMF’s report of a potential boost to global inflation also put pressure on fixed-income assets.
The surge came on a Reuters report that OPEC’s new price hawk Saudi Arabia would be happy for crude to rise to $US80 or even $US100, a sign Riyadh will seek no changes to a supply-cutting deal even though the agreement’s original target is within sight.
Gains in resource stocks boosted Chinese blue chips up 1.1 per cent. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan added 0.9 per cent, with energy up over 2.6 per cent.
Japan’s Nikkei edged up 0.15 per cent, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index rose 1.4 per cent.
A rally in consumer stocks and record foreign inflows boosted Malaysia’s benchmark stock index (FBMKLCI) ahead of the national election on May 9. Rising inflation and currency concerns forced the Philippines stock exchange, the PCOMP, to fall to up to 3.3 per cent yesterday. Japan CPI data for March due out.

Europe

The UK’s top share index rose on Thursday as surging crude oil prices boosted commodity stocks and shares in rare disease specialist Shire’s jumped 6 per cent as bid talk heated up.
The FTSE 100 closed up 0.2 per cent at 7328.92 points, its highest since early February. The mid-cap index also gained, up 0.7 per cent.
Germany was down 0.19 per cent, and France was up 0.21 per cent.
Oil giants Royal Dutch Shell and BP added to FTSE’s gains, both up about 1.5 per cent as oil prices hit their highest in over three years after a report that top exporter Saudi Arabia was pushing for higher prices.
UK inflation has unexpectedly fallen to 2.5pc, a one-year low while retail sales are down 1.2 per cent. Eurozone consumer confidence data for April due out.

North America

Wall Street’s three major indexes closed lower on Thursday as tobacco stocks led a fall in consumer staples and the technology sector faces waning demand for smartphones.
Cigarette giant Philip Morris was the second biggest weight on the S&P after weaker-than-expected results, also pulling down US tobacco company Altria.
A warning from Taiwan Semiconductor (TSMC), the world’s largest contract chipmaker and an Apple supplier, on soft demand for smartphones and on the industry’s growth this year sparked a tumble in chip stocks and made Apple the S&P’s second biggest weight.
Consumer staples were also hurt by a rise in US 10-year Treasury yields, which helped bank stocks. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 0.34 per cent lower, at 24,664.89; the S&P 500 lost 0.57 per cent, to close at 2693.13 and the Nasdaq Composite 0.78 per cent to 7238.06.
The IMF says world growth is poised to slow, citing risky assets and stretched valuations, comparable to the period preceding the GFC.

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Lex Hall is a Morningstar content editor, based in Sydney

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