Global Market Report - May 16, 2018
The Australian sharemarket is expected to open lower after US stocks fell almost 1 per cent, after disappointing US retail spending data and worries about US-China trade relations.
Australia
The Australian sharemarket is expected to open lower after US stocks fell almost 1 per cent, after disappointing US retail spending data and worries about US-China trade relations.
At 830am (AEST), the Australian share price futures index was down seven points, or 0.11 per cent, at 6093 points.
In the US, stocks fell after the latest retail sales data showed spending was growing at a slower rate, while trade worries lingered with no signs of progress in US-China talks.
The Australian sharemarket on Tuesday closed lower, suffering losses across most sectors, including sharp falls in the telco sector following Telstra’s earnings warning.
The benchmark S&P/ASX200 was down 37.5 points, or 0.61 per cent, at 6097.8 points, while the broader All Ordinaries index was down 36.3 points, or 0.58 per cent, at 6198.7 points.
Out today: ABS releases its wage price index for the March quarter, and Westpac Index of Consumer Sentiment for April. Myer releases its 3Q sales, and Coca-Cola Amatil hold its AGM.
Asia
Asian stocks retreated as investors turned cautious after soft Chinese economic data and awaited fresh developments on US-China trade talks and North Korea.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell 0.8 per cent after rising the previous day to its highest since late March. The index had rallied for three straight sessions prior to Tuesday. Japan’s Nikkei dipped 0.2 per cent, with its surge to a three-month peak bogging down.
Europe
Britain’s top share index hit a four-month high on Tuesday as oil majors rallied, though Vodafone's shares struggled after the world's second largest mobile operator said its boss was leaving.
The FTSE blue-chip benchmark ended the day up 0.2 per cent, while Vodafone’s shares fell 4.3 per cent, the worst-performing on the index.
In Germany the DAX 30 index was down 0.06 per cent, while France’s CAC 40 was up 0.23 per cent.
Vodafone, which also announced its full-year results, said CEO Vittorio Colao, who spent 10 years reshaping the group into a digital communications powerhouse, would be replaced by its current finance director.
North America
A surge in US government bond yields to their highest level in almost seven years sent Wall Street shares sliding on Tuesday after strong retail sales data stoked inflation concerns and investors fretted about looming US-China trade talks.
All three major US stock indexes closed down, with the S&P 500 ending a four-day winning streak and the Dow posting its first loss in eight sessions.
The yield on 10-year US Treasury notes jumped to its highest level since July 2011, suggesting an uptick in inflation and sending the dollar index to its highest close in 2018, raising expectations for further interest rate hikes from the Federal Reserve.
Core April retail sales - which excludes gasoline, cars, building materials and food services - rose at a brisker 0.4 per cent monthly pace over March, as consumer spending is quickening its pace after a first-quarter slowdown.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 193 points, or 0.78 per cent, to 24,706.41, the S&P 500 lost 18.68 points, or 0.68 per cent, to 2711.45 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 59.69 points, or 0.81 per cent, to 7351.63.
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Lex Hall is a Morningstar content editor, based in Sydney.
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