OPENING CALL: The Australian share market is expected to open lower. The SPI Futures contract expected to open down 72 points.
London’s main transportation regulator declined to offer Uber a long-term operating license in the city, prolonging a period of scrutiny in one of the ride-hailing company’s most important global markets.
Volkswagen Chief Executive Herbert Diess, Chairman Hans Dieter, and former CEO Martin Winterkorn have been charged by German prosecutors with suspicion of misleading shareholders in the months before the 2015 diesel emissions-cheating scandal became public.
Overnight Summary
Each Market in Focus
Australian shares logged a lackluster session, easing slightly after Wall Street finished little changed and European markets fell on concerns about cooling growth.
The S&P/ASX 200 inched down 0.8 point to 6748.9 and snapped a three-session run higher. Despite gains by heavily weighted banks, declines in resources stocks and industrials dragged and Treasury Wine fell 4.8% after holding investor briefings.
U.S. stocks turned lower intraday as calls for President Trump’s impeachment gained momentum and disappointing economic data renewed concerns about slowing growth.
Major indexes swung sharply on political headlines during the session. After opening slightly higher, stocks tumbled on reports that House Democratic leaders plan to hold an all-caucus meeting Tuesday to discuss whether to pursue the impeachment of President Trump.
The indexes then pared some of those losses after Mr. Trump said he would release a transcript of a call with the Ukrainian president that has come under fire in recent days. The Dow Jones Industrial Average swung about 375 points from its high to its low. Reports in recent days have suggested Mr. Trump pressed Ukraine to investigate Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden and his son. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said
she would make an announcement at 5 p.m. ET, following the Democrats’ meeting.
The Dow industrials fell 92 points, or 0.3%, after earlier rising as much as 129 points. The S&P 500 dropped 0.6%, as nine of its 11 sectors slumped. Only the consumer staples and utilities sectors — both of which are seen as safety plays — were holding onto gains. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite shed 1.8%.
U.S. oil prices were recently down 2.3% at $57.29 a barrel. Brent crude, the global standard, was off 2.6% to $62.09 a barrel.
Gold prices logged their highest finish in nearly three weeks, after President Donald Trump criticized China and took a hard-line stance on Iran during his speech at the United Nations General Assembly, pressuring U.S. stocks and boosting the metal’s haven appeal.
Trump turned up pressure on China as Washington and Beijing seek a trade deal, and called on all countries to act to counter Iran’s regime. The speech fed risk-off sentiment in the market, pushing U.S. benchmark stock indexes broadly lower.
The dollar was a touch lower, having declined earlier in the day against currencies such as the British pound, which climbed after a ruling from the U.K.’s top court presented new obstacles to Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s hardline Brexit strategy.
The pound was recently up 0.4% at $1.2481, while The WSJ Dollar Index was down 0.3% at 91.16.
Elsewhere, the Stoxx Europe 600 edged up less than 0.1%, following a session of gains in Asia.
The FTSE 100 closed down 0.47%. The decline followed a Supreme Court ruling that Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s proroguing parliament was unlawful, which helped push the pound higher, causing London’s blue chip index to drop.
Meanwhile, the French CAC-40 Index was down 2.43 points, or 0.04%, to 5628.33 while the German DAX was down 35.18 points, or 0.29%, to 12307.15.
In Asia, the Shanghai Composite and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng both rose 0.3%, while Japan’s
Nikkei edged up 0.1%.
The Chinese central bank’s governor, Yi Gang, said the People’s Bank of China won’t
follow the course of Western central banks with new stimulus, despite slowing growth, as
the economy is still performing within expectations.
Japanese stocks advanced slightly, led by gains in retail and utility stocks as hopes
for policy stimulus persist. Shopping mall-operator Aeon rose 3.3%, while diaper maker
Unicharm advanced 3.1% against the Nikkei Stock Average’s 0.1% rise to 22098.84. Traders
are looking for signs that policy makers in various parts of the world are taking steps
to counter the negative effects from the U.S.-China trade fight.
South Korea’s benchmark Kospi closed 0.5% higher at 2101.04, rising for 13 consecutive
sessions — the longest winning streak in five months. Tech, auto and chemical stocks
drove the gains, with investor sentiment buoyed by fresh hopes for a U.S.-China trade
deal after U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said he would meet China’s Vice Premier
Liu He for talks in two weeks, a Shinhan Investment analyst said.
Hong Kong stocks closed 0.2% higher at 26281.00 as the market may be undergoing some
oversold rebound after losing for six consecutive sessions.
Singapore’s FTSE Straits Times Index closed 0.4% higher at 3155.46, gaining with
benchmark indexes in Hong Kong and mainland China that recover on reports that the
planned U.S.-China trade talks in October remain on track.
Indian shares closed flat after surging for the previous two sessions on the
government’s latest booster dose for the economy.
The post Australian market expected to open lower 25/09/19 appeared first on FP Markets.
