The ASX200 is forecast to take back .21 per cent during today’s session, to end the week in the green.
The US markets were closed overnight due to Thanksgiving, so we’ll take a closer look at Europe today, especially given markets there are at their highest level in a couple of months.
European bond yields are up after the release of this month’s Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) data, which rose slightly to 47.1 – indicating slight improvement in Europe’s economy – but not enough to be outside the ‘contraction’ zone.
And there was a surprising election win in the Netherlands, a country long known for its tolerance. Anti-islam populist Geert Wilders had a landslide victory overnight. Wilders’ Far Right party won 37 of 150 seats, providing him the vast majority.
Meanwhile China needs more than $445 billion to stabilise its property industry and Bloomberg reports it’s putting the pressure on banks to find it, so millions of unfinished apartments can be completed. Leaders are putting together a list of about 50 property developers that require financial support.
Back home, energy retailer Origin Energy continues to garner attention, with major shareholder AustralianSuper criticising the Brookfield-led consortium’s efforts to ‘extend deadlines’ in relation to its $18.7 billion bid for the company.
The $300 billion, 3.2 million-member superannuation fund already has a 17 per cent ownership stake in Origin Energy and it’s rejecting the revised proposal for the ASX-listed electricity giant.
One Aussie dollar is buying 65 US cents. Bitcoin is sitting under the $57,000 mark.
Iron Ore has pulled back a per cent to $136 a tonne, crude oil’s at $76.17. Gold is sitting steady at $1992 and natural gas has trimmed half a per cent to $2.88.
We’ll bring you a Market Update mid-session.