Australian market expected to open higher 08/10/19

Australian shares rose, with the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index gaining 0.7% to 6563.6, as sentiment improved following a U.S. rally Friday after a positive jobs report.  

The move is the index’s second-straight session of gains, as the market recoups losses from the middle of last week when poor U.S. manufacturing data spooked investors.  

On Monday, the top gainers in the Australian index were Soul Pattinson, which gained 7.3%, and Clinuvel, which rose 4.2%. Speedcast lost 4.4%. The Australian stock index is up 16% this year.  

U.S. stocks inched lower intraday, pressured by a streak of disappointing economic data from around the world.  

The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 44 points, or 0.2%, to 26530. The S&P 500 fell 0.2% and the Nasdaq Composite lost 0.1%.  Data Monday heightened investors’ worries about the health of the global economy.

Factory orders in Germany slipped more than expected in August, while confidence among eurozone investors fell to the lowest level in six years.  

The reports, coming days after a gauge of U.S. factory activity slipped to the lowest level in a decade, added to signs that economic growth is softening around the world.  While U.S. stocks remain up double-digit percentages for the year, helped by investor confidence that the Federal Reserve will keep lowering interest rates, some analysts warn further deterioration in economic data could chip away at the rally.  

Among individual stocks, General Motors fell 0.2% after negotiations between the firm and the United Auto Workers union broke down over the weekend.  

PayPal shares fell 1.1% after it said it was withdrawing from the group of companies Facebook assembled to launch a global cryptocurrrency-based payments network.  

U.S. benchmark oil prices reverse earlier gains to end the session just 0.1% lower at $52.75 a barrel as investors turn bearish ahead of US-China trade talks later this week. 

Additionally, traders say a strong dollar-the WSJ Dollar Index is trading 0.3% higher-was also pushing oil lower since crude prices are set in U.S. currency, so stronger U.S. currency tends to weaken oil prices.  

The U.S. dollar edged higher as government bond yields around the world declined relative to Treasurys. The dollar has remained supported by higher bond yields, even as expectations have increased for a Federal Reserve rate cut at the central bank’s meeting this month.   

 U.S.-based investors buying euro-denominated bonds and hedging back into dollars using foreign exchange swaps will earn the yield on the euro bond, plus the currency hedge, it notes. This means U.S. investors could buy forex hedged 3-5 year BBB-rated euro debt and pocket a 3.41% annualized yield, or a 79 basis point pickup over equivalent dollar debt, adds the bank.  

European markets rose after early gains on Wall Street as the upbeat mood from solid payroll numbers on Friday continued, though U.S.-China trade uncertainty weighs. The Stoxx Europe 600 advanced 0.7%, while the FTSE 100 was up 0.6% and the DAX and CAC-40 gained 0.7% and 0.6% respectively.  

German manufacturing orders declined by 0.6% on the month, official data showed. Economists polled by The Wall Street Journal had forecast a small improvement of 0.2% growth.  

Shares of auto-parts maker Continental AG were among the biggest decliners in the region Monday, falling 1.1%. The company last month confirmed it would close production plants in several countries. Its competitor, Michelin, also said in September it would shut a factory in Germany.