Global Market Report - 30 August
Australian shares look set to open on a subdued note, despite a rise on Wall Street overnight, as local investors stay cautious ahead of key economic data later on Thursday.
Australia
Australian shares look set to open on a subdued note, despite a rise on Wall Street overnight, as local investors stay cautious ahead of key economic data later on Thursday.
In futures trading, the SPI200 futures contract was down 8 points, or 0.13 per cent, to 6329 points at 8.30am. The Australian dollar is buying 72.93 US cents, down from 73.03 US cents on Wednesday.
US stocks extended their rally on Wednesday, with the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq hitting record highs for the fourth straight session as technology companies pushed indexes higher and promising trade negotiations stoked investor sentiment.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended up 60.55 points, or 0.23 per cent at 26,124.57 points, the S&P500 rose 16.52 points or 0.57 per cent at 2914.04 points, while the tech-heavy NASDAQ index closed 79.64 points or 0.99 per cent higher at 8109.69 points.
TPG Telecom and Vodafone Hutchison Australia have confirmed they will join forces to create a $15 billion telco challenger to Telstra and Optus.
Ramsay Health Care has reported net profit of $388.3 million, down 21 per cent on the previous period after what it described as ‘challenging circumstances’.
Stem cell therapy company Mesoblast has narrowed its full-year loss, booking a $US35.3 million ($48.3m) loss attributable to owners, compared to $US76.8m last year.
Official economic data, including building approvals for July and private capital expenditure for the June quarter will also be released at 11.30am.
Asia
Japan's Nikkei share average rose for the seventh straight session on Wednesday as technology shares advanced along with their Wall Street counterparts.
The Nikkei ended the day up 0.15 percent at 22,848.22 points.
Shares in Hong Kong ended higher, lifted by property developers, but a cloudy outlook for trade and economic growth in China put pressure on the Hang Seng's China Enterprises index.
At close of trade, the Hang Seng index was up 64.82 points, or 0.2 per cent, at 28,416.44. The Hang Seng China Enterprises index fell 0.1 per cent to 11,083.06.
China's main Shanghai Composite index closed down 0.3 per cent at 2777.9808 while its blue-chip CSI300 index ended down 0.4 per cent.
Europe
In Europe, markets were also affected by the European Union’s top negotiator saying the bloc is willing to strike an "ambitious" deal with post-Brexit Britain far beyond any agreements made with other countries in the past.
The main stock indices in Paris and Frankfurt both flipped higher after the announcement and closed the day 0.3 per cent higher.
The pound spiked higher, gaining over one cent to climb over $1.30. But as a stronger pound depresses earnings of many London-listed firms who make most of their sales abroad, the FTSE100 ended the day 0.7 per cent lower.
Aston Martin, the maker of James Bond's favourite sports car, said it may sell shares for the first time as it seeks to attract more wealthy buyers with an expanded product range including sedans, sports utility vehicles and even submarines.
North America
US stocks have extended their rally with the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq hitting record highs for the fourth straight session as technology companies pushed indexes higher and promising trade negotiations stoked investor sentiment.
Apple led the technology sector's advance on Wednesday, and the iPhone maker's shares hit an all-time closing high at $US222.98 ($305.08).
The FAANG group of momentum stocks also got a boost from Morgan Stanley's price target increases for Amazon.com and Alphabet.
Amazon's stock gained 3.4 per cent, leading the consumer discretionary sector's advance, as the company edged closer to becoming the second US company, after Apple, to reach $1 trillion in market value.
The remaining FAANG stocks, Facebook and Netflix, closed slightly lower.
Canada appeared to be taking a more conciliatory approach to its ongoing talks with the US aimed at salvaging the trilateral North American Free Trade Agreement, days after Washington said it had struck a deal with Mexico.
Among the economic fundamentals, the Commerce Department released its second reading of second-quarter GDP, showing the US economy grew at an upwardly-revised annual rate of 4.2 per cent in the quarter, its best performance in nearly four years.
Eight of the 11 major sectors of the S&P 500 ended the session in positive territory, with the largest percentage gains coming from the consumer discretionary and technology sectors.
Restaurant operator Yum China Holdings extended its rally, and was up 5.5 per cent after rejecting a $17.6 billion buyout bid from a Chinese consortium.
More from Morningstar
• Make better investment decisions with Morningstar Premium | Free 4-week trial
Morningstar with AAP, Reuters and Bloomberg
Lex Hall is content editor, Morningstar Australia
© 2018 Morningstar, Inc. All rights reserved. Neither Morningstar, its affiliates, nor the content providers guarantee the data or content contained herein to be accurate, complete or timely nor will they have any liability for its use or distribution. This information is to be used for personal, non-commercial purposes only. No reproduction is permitted without the prior written consent of Morningstar. Any general advice or 'class service' have been prepared by Morningstar Australasia Pty Ltd (ABN: 95 090 665 544, AFSL: 240892), or its Authorised Representatives, and/or Morningstar Research Ltd, subsidiaries of Morningstar, Inc, without reference to your objectives, financial situation or needs. Please refer to our Financial Services Guide (FSG) for more information at www.morningstar.com.au/s/fsg.pdf. Our publications, ratings and products should be viewed as an additional investment resource, not as your sole source of information. Past performance does not necessarily indicate a financial product's future performance. To obtain advice tailored to your situation, contact a licensed financial adviser. Some material is copyright and published under licence from ASX Operations Pty Ltd ACN 004 523 782 ("ASXO"). The article is current as at date of publication.
