Yahoo Finance ASX drops, gold rises, Bitcoin struggles to recover
Good morning.
Here's everything you need to know for finance markets this morning.
ASX: It looks set to be a disappointing day of trade for the Australian share market on Wednesday. According to the latest SPI futures, the ASX 200 is expected to open the day 34 points or 0.5 per cent lower this morning.
Wall Street: AU stocks follow an underwhelming night of trade on Wall Street which saw the Dow Jones fall 0.25 per cent, the S&P 500 drop 0.2 per cent and the Nasdaq trade broadly flat.
AUD: The Australian dollar is trading at 0.7751 to the US dollar as at 9.15am this morning.
Oil: Energy producers could have a subdued day on Wednesday. According to Bloomberg, the WTI crude oil price is down 0.25 per cent to US$65.89 a barrel and the Brent crude oil price is flat at US$68.46 a barrel. Traders appear nervous while they await news on Iranian sanctions.
Gold: Gold miners will be on watch after the gold price pushed higher overnight. According to CNBC, the spot gold price is up 0.85 per cent to US$1,900.30 an ounce. The precious metal hit a four and a half month high after bond yields weakened.
Bitcoin: Bitcoin and other major cryptocurrencies continue to recover their losses but the market is struggling to recapture previous ground after heavy selling at the weekend.
Cryptocurrency: The free fall in the prices of cryptocurrencies over the past week has exacerbated investor concerns around volatile technology stocks. But forget Bitcoin and Ethereum, here are the 10 best Cryptocurrencies that redditors are buying.
Cash rates: The last time the Reserve Bank of Australia increased official interest rates was way back in November 2010. This means that anyone who has taken out a mortgage over the past decade has never been confronted with an email or letter from the bank telling them that their monthly repayments will be increased. But that could all be about to change. Here's why.
Economic outlook: Economists will be fine-tuning their growth forecasts for the first three months of the year as the Australian Bureau of Statistics rolls out a series of quarterly indicators over the coming week. The March quarter national accounts, which will provide the latest economic growth result, are due on 2nd June.
Electric vehicle tax: Victoria will become the first state in Australia to tax electric vehicle drivers after controversial legislation passed both houses of parliament. The Andrews government's electric vehicle tax passed without amendment in the upper house on Tuesday night.
Emissions: A majority of Australians say the federal government's highest energy policy priority should be the reduction of carbon emissions - and not lower prices. That's the outcome of a poll of almost 3300 Australians conducted by the Lowy Institute think tank on the country's climate change views.
Have a great day.
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