AAP sale finalised, Seafolly goes into admin: ASX set to open higher
Following a claw back from US markets overnight, the Australian share market looks set to open higher this morning. The future of the Australian Associated Press (AAP) newswire has been assured sold to new owners a consortium of philanthropists and investors saving the newswire company that has been operating for more than 85 years. Meanwhile, iconic Australian bikini brand Seafolly has gone into administration, due to the impact of Covid-19. The company has been operating since 1975 and has 44 stores in Australia and 12 stores overseas. India has banned Tik Tok and 58 other Chinese Apps citing security concerns. The Australian dollar dropped 0.1 per cent against the US dollar.
Local economic news
ABS will release the survey of household Impacts of Covid-19.
RBA deputy Guy Debelle on policy actions and balance sheet.
Markets
Wall Street closed higher yesterday: The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 2.32 per cent to close at 25,596, the S&P 500 added 1.47 per cent to 3053 and the NASDAQ rose 1.2 per cent to 9874.
European markets closed higher: London’s FTSE gained 1.1 per cent, Paris added 0.7 per cent and Frankfurt was up 1.2 per cent.
Asian markets closed lower: Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was down 1 per cent and China’s Shanghai Composite shed 0.6 per cent while Tokyo’s Nikkei was 2.3 per cent lower.
Taking all of this into equation, the SPI futures are pointing to a 1.3 per cent rise.
Yesterday, the Australian share market closed 1.5 per cent lower at 5815.
Company news
Infratil (ASX:IFT) is pleased to announce the completion of its NZ$50 million Share Purchase Plan to existing eligible shareholders. The SPP closed oversubscribed, receiving strong shareholder support with Infratil receiving applications totaling approximately NZ$131 million. Given the NZ$:A$ exchange rate on the closing date, A$ applications will be capped at A$46,720. This brings the total amount raised under the capital raising to NZ$300 million, with proceeds to provide balance sheet flexibility to fund growth investments and take advantage of new opportunities that may arise as a result of current market conditions. Shares in Infratil (ASX:IFT) closed 1.13 per cent lower at $4.39.
Ex-Dividends
Concentrated Leaders (ASX:CLF) is paying 1.5 cents fully franked
Lowell Res Fund (ASX:LRT) is paying 3.02 cents unfranked
Mcp Income Opp Trust (ASX:MOT) is paying 2.15 cents unfranked
Mcp Master Income (ASX:MXT) is paying 0.79 cents unfranked
Partners Grp Global (ASX:PGG) is paying 1.29 cents unfranked
TPG Telecom (ASX:TPM) is paying 49 cents fully franked
VItalharvest (ASX:VTH) is paying 1.5 cents unfranked
Currencies
One Australian Dollar at 7:15 AM was buying 68.68 US cents, 55.85 Pence Sterling, 73.89 Yen and 61.11 Euro cents.
Commodities
Iron Ore futures suggest a 0.6 per cent loss.
Gold has gained $3.70 to US$1784 an ounce.
Silver has lost $0.08 to US$18.09 an ounce.
Oil has gained $1.07 to US$39.72 a barrel.
Copyright 2020 – Finance News Network
Source: Finance News Network
