Australian bond yields are up and interest rate cuts have been all but ruled out for the year. Some analysts are even tipping we could be in for a rate ‘hike’, as the reduction in inflation hasn’t been strong enough.
Futures have been suggesting the ASX200 will slip by around a third of a per cent this morning.
On US markets, Alphabet announced its first dividend and the stock has overnight notched a new trading record, while Microsoft thanked AI for its 20% first quarter profit growth.
Those companies provided a bright spark, amid wider economic data revealing inflation was higher than expected in the US, and growth was lower. The Dow Jones shed a per cent, the Nasdaq 0.6 per cent and the S&P 500 shed half a per cent.
BHP Group (ASX:BHP) has made a proposal to acquire all shares in UK copper-focussed miner Anglo American. The deal is worth (31.1b pound) or just below $56 billion Australian dollars.
BHP has referred to the bid rather as a ‘potential combination’ and reiterated that there was no certainty an offer would actually be made.
Resmed (ASX:RMD) has reported year-on-year revenue up 7% and operating profit up 25 per cent for the March quarter, and Tourism Holdings (ASX:THL) has appointed a COO for its US and Canadian arm. Kate Meldrum has served a number of key roles for the company and will move into the position mid-year.
One Australian dollar is buying US65.1 cents.
Gold has been trading just above US$2332.50 an ounce; iron ore has been at US109.23 a tonne; brent crude oil has been trading around US$89.15 a barrel; and natural gas has taken a hit, trading around US$1.60 per million British thermal units.
That’s market open for the end of this short week.
We’ll bring you an update mid-session.