Yahoo Finance ASX climbs while Amazon payments rumour makes Bitcoin surge
Good morning.
Here's everything you need to know about finance markets for today.
ASX: The Australian share market looks set to push higher on Tuesday. According to the latest SPI futures, the ASX 200 is expected to open the day 22 points or 0.30 per cent higher at the open.
Wall Street: It was a positive night of trade on Wall Street, which saw the Dow Jones rise 0.2 per cent, the S&P 500 climb 0.25 per cent, and the Nasdaq edge slightly higher. The S&P 500 hit a new record high overnight.
EU stocks: European stocks kicked the week off on a cautious note digesting news from the weekend that the number of new COVID-19 cases in the UK has continued to fall. The FTSE 100 was flat by the end of the day in London. Over in Europe, the CAC was up 0.1 per cent having fallen earlier and the DAX closed 0.4 per cent lower.
AUD: The Australian dollar is trading at 0.7382 to the US dollar as at 7.30am this morning.
Oil: Energy producers could have a positive day after oil prices edged higher overnight. According to Bloomberg, the WTI crude oil price is up 0.1 per cent to US$72.13 a barrel and the Brent crude oil price has risen 0.85 per cent to US$74.72 a barrel. Traders were buying oil on the belief that the market is undersupplied.
Gold: Gold minerswill be on watch after the gold price dropped overnight. According to CNBC, the spot gold price is down 0.25 per cent to US$1,797.6 an ounce. The price of the precious metal fell despite weakness in the US dollar. Traders appear nervous ahead of another US Federal Reserve meeting.
Bitcoin: Bitcoin (BTC-USD) and other cryptocurrencies surged higher on Monday morning, amid speculation that e-commerce giant Amazon (AMZN) could soon accept tokens as payment.
Lockdown rules: Business is calling for a smarter approach to tackling the coronavirus, rather than the current response which has seen half the population in lockdown with negative consequences for the national economy. South Australia is set to end its restrictions on Tuesday night, while Victoria is yet to make a final decision as to whether it will do the same. The lockdown in NSW continues.
Vaccine momentum: Health Minister Greg Hunt says access and motivation are the key to completing the COVID-19 vaccine rollout and exiting tough restrictions. Hunt cited the example of the ACT where over 94 per cent of over 70s have now been vaccinated in a territory which has seen relatively few coronavirus cases.
Facebook safety: An Australian academic who analyses online harassment, "revenge porn" and "deep fake" videos is joining a Facebook global advisory body to instruct the social media giant on women's safety. Monash University associate professor Asher Flynn will join the 12-person advisory committee that aims to boost women's online safety.
Union conference: Unions will meet for a coronavirus-curtailed conference with the bulk of the event falling victim to pandemic restrictions. The Australian Council of Trade Unions was due to meet for its triennial congress where more than a thousand delegates were to thrash out policy.
Artificial intelligence: Backpacks to track bees, bushfire modelling and sensors to detect broken water pipes are some of the technologies being developed in Australia as part of an artificial intelligence boom. Digital Economy Minister Jane Hume says artificial intelligence has the capacity to improve the lives of all Australians.
Online shopping: Australia’s most prolific online shoppers during 2020 were largely based in Victoria, as Melbourne’s multiple snap lockdowns forced people to do their shopping online, a new report has revealed.
Woolies, Coles announcement: Woolworths and Coles make a major new COVID-19 worker announcement. These supermarket workers now have priority access to Pfizer vaccines amid growing concerns about the virus’ transmission in these settings.
Have a great day.
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