Global Market Report - July 2, 2018
Modest gains on Wall Street have paved the way for the Australian sharemarket to start the September quarter on a positive note.
Australia
Modest gains on Wall Street have paved the way for the Australian sharemarket to start the September quarter on a positive note.
The Australian futures index was up 23 points at 6171, at 8.30am (AEST). The Australian dollar is buying 73.99 US cents.
Oil prices reached another multiyear high, boosted by declining crude inventories and building concerns over supply disruptions.
The Australian share market ended the financial year on Friday on a sour note after a late afternoon sell-off, as energy stocks fell despite soaring oil prices and healthcare and financial stocks retreated.
The benchmark S&P/ASX200 plunged in the last half-hour of trade to close down 0.33 per cent, at 6194.6 points on Friday, while the broader All Ordinaries index lost 0.26 per cent at 6289.7 points.
CoreLogic figures show further weakness in house prices, while ABS data tomorrow might show a bounce in building approvals. Retail trade figures from the ABS on Wednesday will probably only show modest growth.
AiG manufacturing index June, CoreLogic dwelling prices June, MI inflation June, ANZ job ads May. The RBA will meet tomorrow for its first policy meeting of the month.
Asia
Hong Kong stocks slid to nearly a seven-month low on Wednesday as a sharp fall in the yuan added to fears about China's economic growth amid escalating US-China trade tensions.
The Hang Seng index fell 1.8 per cent, to 28,356.26, while the China Enterprises Index lost 2.2 per cent, to 10,879.17 points.
China's yuan fell below a psychologically key 6.6 per US dollar level. The currency posted its weakest official local close since December 19, last year.
Japanese shares ended Friday on modest gains as Asian equities rebounded from nine-month lows, with the yen's weakening against the dollar also providing support.
The Nikkei 225 share average rose 0.15 per cent to 22,304.51 after dropping to as low as 22,145.48.
Europe
European shares rebounded on Friday as China eased foreign investment limits.
The blue-chip FTSE 100 Index is up 21 points, or 0.28 per cent, to 7636.
The pan-European STOXX 600 was up 0.8 per cent at its close, while Germany's trade-sensitive DAX jumped 1.1 per cent.
The index fell 0.8 per cent this month amid trade war fears. However, that still left it with a 2.4 per cent gain in the second quarter.
North America
US stocks crept up as investors took advantage of a pause in trade tensions to boost major indexes’ gains for the second quarter.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose as much as 293 points earlier in the session before paring its gain in the final hour of trading. Energy shares rose alongside a spike in oil prices, while strong sales pushed shoe giant Nike to a share price record, pulling the S&P 500 and Dow industrials higher.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.2 per cent to 24,271. The S&P 500 rose less than 0.1 per cent, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.1 per cent.
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Lex Hall is a Morningstar content editor, based in Sydney.
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