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The ASX is expected to have a subdued session on Thursday after Wall Street fell overnight.
The Dow Jones, S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite lost ground, driven by concerns of a recession. The Federal Reserve expects a mild recession in North America following the recent banking crisis.
Back home, all eyes will be on the March employment data due for release today, with the jobless rate expected to rise.
The Aussie dollar saw a slight raise. One Aussie dollar is buying 67 US cents and 54 British pence.
To commodities, crude oil has seen a marginal increase.
Gold has continued its uptick this week, though some miners will be battening down the hatches with Australian tropical cyclone Ilsa set to hit as a category four system tonight. Forecasters expect it to be the biggest cyclone to cross the WA coast in almost a decade.
It’ll land between Broome and Port Hedland, with winds gusting up to 275 kilometres an hour. The storm will interrupt mine export operations; Port Hedland is the main export hub for companies including BHP, Rio Tinto and FMG, with about $300 million of import and export movements each day. The port has been cleared ahead of the storm.
Newcrest Mining’s Telfer gold mine is among the mining operations expected to receive a deluge, with the weather bureau suggesting the region could receive a year’s worth of rain in the cyclone.
Meanwhile, Australian retailer Wesfarmers has sold its remaining 2.8 per cent stake in supermarket chain Coles Group.
While the exact price tag has not yet been disclosed, the deal has been valued at around $688 million — or $18.50 per share.
