Morning traders.Overnight round-up and day ahead: Tepid gains...

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    Morning traders.


    Overnight round-up and day ahead:


    Tepid gains on Wall Street and a mixed night for commodities point to a flat start to Australian trade as investors wait for central bank guidance later this week.

    The June index futures contract ended the night session one point or less than 0.1% ahead at 6542.

    U.S. stocks moved higher overnight but surrendered much of their gains by the close as traders held off adding to positions ahead of a Federal Reserve policy update on Thursday morning Australian time. The S&P 500 and Dow both inched ahead 0.09 per cent. Solid gains in Facebook and Netflix helped the Nasdaq rise 0.62 per cent.


    Australian stocks ended last week at an 11-year high, but hit reverse yesterday as softening iron ore prices weighed on the big miners. The benchmark index, the S&P/ASX 200, eased 23 points or 0.4 per cent to 6531. Iron ore declined again overnight, falling $1.20 or 1.1 per cent to US$108.20 a tonne after Friday's soft Chinese factory data muddied the demand outlook. That helped pull both BHP and Rio Tinto down 0.2 per cent in U.S. action.

    The dollar has been under pressure since the RBA cut rates earlier this month. Overnight it eased from 68.8 US cents to 68.5 cents.

    Oil resumed its recent downtrend as tensions in the Middle East were outweighed by weak demand signals last week. Texas crude declined 58 cents or 1.1 per cent to settle at $US51.93 a barrel. On Friday, the International Energy Agency downgraded its global demand forecast for a second straight month, citing concerns about a global economic slowdown.

    A mixed session for base metals saw copper rebound as a decline in Chinese output fuelled hopes the world's second largest economy may need to import more. Benchmark copper advanced 0.5% per cent to $5,848 a tonne on the London Metal Exchange. Zinc gained 0.7 per cent and lead 1.1 per cent. Aluminium declined 0.3 per cent and nickel 0.8 per cent.

    Gold's four-session winning run petered out overnight as tensions in the Middle East abated. Gold for August delivery $1.60 or 0.1% to settle at $US1,342.90. The precious metal hit a 14-month high last week following attacks on shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.

    Today's key economic release for local traders is at 11.30am EST when the Reserve Bank releases the minutes from this month's policy meeting. The RBA cut the cash rate by 25 basis points to a record low 1.25 per cent. Traders will look for clues to further cuts in the months ahead. The housing market will also come under the spotlight with the 11.30am release of quarterly housing prices. Looking ahead to tonight, housing starts and building permits are the key releases in the U.S.


    Today is International Sushi Day. Yes, you can have bacon.

    https://hotcopper.com.au/data/attachments/1599/1599621-05c3018250b4ce8c277aa5be3f6a3a0c.jpghttps://hotcopper.com.au/data/attachments/1599/1599626-3514b9e664aef474c83b07188ede194b.jpghttps://hotcopper.com.au/data/attachments/1599/1599629-4bdea986b5aa49cd7a25b0235468c9df.jpg

    Last edited by highlandlad: 18/06/19
 
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