Overseas Market Report – U.S. Stocks End Higher; Yellen, Oil Eyed
U.S. stocks finished higher again on Wednesday as the market continued to process Fed Chair Janet Yellen's dovish comments and as oil prices rose.
ADP said the U.S. private sector added 200,000 jobs in March. That was in line with analyst expectations. February's gain was revised slightly lower to a 205,000 gain from an originally reported 214,000. The data comes ahead of Friday's official payroll and unemployment rate report.
At the closing bell, the Dow and NASDAQ were each 0.5% higher and the S&P 500 was up 0.4%.
MetLife (MET) shares jumped after a federal judge agreed that the firm should not be considered a systemically important financial institution.
Valeant (VRX) has asked its lenders to extend the deadline for filing its annual report, which has been delayed due to continued question marks around the firm's relationship with a specialty pharmacy and other accounting issue. In return, the firm would restrict its ability to make some acquisitions.
Shares of Carnival (CCL) were up after the cruise-line operator reported better-than-expected fiscal first-quarter results. The firm also boosted its guidance for the full year on the back of strong bookings.
For Australian ADRs listed on the NYSE, BHP Billiton rose 56 cents (2.18%) to $26.30, ResMed gained 63 cents (1.12%) to $56.89, Telstra Corporation slipped 2 cents (-0.10%) to $20.08, Spark New Zealand gained 39 cents (3.25%) to $12.40 and Westpac was up 9 cents (0.39) to $23.20.
At 7:45 AM (AEDT), the 10-year Treasury note yield was 1.82% and the 5-year yield was 1.26%.
European markets were higher.
The FTSE 100 rose 1.6%, Germany's DAX also rose 1.6% and the French CAC 40 gained 1.8%.
Asian markets closed mixed.
The Shanghai Composite jumped 2.8%, while the Hang Seng gained 2.2% and the Nikkei 225 fell 1.3%. India's Sensex rose 1.8%.
Australian Market Report- Local Markets Expected To Open Higher
Ahead of the local open, SPI futures were 42 points higher at 5,035.00
Wednesday 30 March – close. The Australian market opened higher as the banks attempted a bounce back from Tuesday's losses. Local stocks failed to hold their early gains, dipping briefly below the red line in the last trading hour but recovering to finish flat. There were mixed results from the sectors; energy saw the biggest losses as oil prices fell overnight with healthcare posting the highest gains. The Australian dollar gained against the greenback but fell against other major currencies.
The All Ordinaries rose 5.30 points to 5,081.50 while the S&P/ASX 200 added 5.80 points to 5,010.30.
In This Issue
ASX Limited (ASX)
ASX announced that the Treasurer, the Hon. Scott Morrison MP, announced the outcome of a review into the market structure for equities clearing. The company welcomes announcement by the Treasurer that the government is committed to putting in place the conditions needed for safe and effective competition in cash equities clearing. The Treasurer's statement confirms that Australia's regulatory agencies will not recommend approval of any clearing licence applications until the conditions that support the government's policy for safe and effective competition are established. The company remains the sole provider of clearing services for cash equities in the meantime. It has also announced that from 1 July 2016 its equities clearing fee will be cut by 10%. ASX added 50 cents to $41.25.
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