OPENING CALL: The Australian share market is expected to open flat. The SPI200 futures contract expected to open down 3 points.
The former ambassador to Ukraine testified that she felt threatened by President Trump’s disparaging comments about her in a phone call with his Ukrainian counterpart as the second public hearing of the impeachment inquiry continued.
Walt Disney-controlled Hulu said it is boosting the cost of Hulu + Live TV-its service that offers live news and sports as well as on-demand content-to $54.99 a month.
Overnight Summary
Each Market in Focus
Australian shares ended higher with the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index closing up 0.9% at 6793.7, on reports that the U.S. and China are nearing a trade deal, though President Trump isn’t ready to sign off.
It was the benchmark’s second straight day of gains and put it about 1% higher for the week.
Property shares logged a gain of 1.3% and consumer discretionary shares closed up 1.2%.
Infant formula and organic food company Bellamy’s rose nearly 2% on news that Australian authorities approved its takeover by a Chinese dairy company.
The Dow opened modestly higher Friday and meandered for much of the session before staging a late rally and crossing the milestone in the final minute of the session.
The index closed at 28004.89, a gain of 223 points, or 0.8%-its first thousand-point milestone since July.
Investors drove the broad stock market index up about 0.9% Friday for 0.9% weekly gain. The S&P 500’s six-week winning streak is its longest since November 2017 when the index rose for eight consecutive weeks.
However, it comes in the midst of lull-the index hadn’t moved up or down more than 0.5% for nine consecutive trading days through Thursday, the longest streak since October 2018, according to Dow Jones Market Data.
Gold for December delivery on Comex lost $4.90, or 0.3%, to settle at $1,468.50 an ounce, with prices for the most-active contract still managing to end about 0.4% higher for the week.
December silver declined 8 cents, or 0.5%, to $16.948 an ounce, to pare its
weekly gain to around 0.7%.
Oil futures climbed to tally a gain for the week, with optimism over phase one of a potential U.S.-China trade deal lifting prospects for energy demand, even as traders weigh a conflicting outlook for crude supplies.
The WSJ Dollar Index, which measures the U.S. currency against a basket of 16 others, slid for the third day in a row, falling to 90.87 from 90.99.
European markets rose as traders took their cue from advances on Wall Street. The Stoxx Europe 600 gained 0.3%, the FTSE 100 climbed 0.09%, the CAC-40 rose 0.6% and the DAX ticked up 0.4%.
The Nikkei 225 in Tokyo finished the day 0.7% higher, although it was marginally down for the week.
Hong Kong stocks’ morning recovery proved short-lived as the market erased gains by session end. The Hang Seng Index closed flat at 26326.66. Banks were broadly weaker, as Bank of Communications fell 1.5%, HSBC Holdings lost 0.4%, while BOC Hong Kong declined by 0.2%. Chinese pharmas were also down, as prices corrected from relative strength in
recent months.
Indian stocks ended the day higher, sustaining broad advances this week amid continued expectations of further policy-easing measures to boost a slowing economy.
The post Australian market expected to open flat 18/11/19 appeared first on FP Markets.