Yahoo Finance ASX jumps despite deepening COVID-19 crisis in NSW
Good morning.
Here's everything you need to know about finance markets for today.
ASX: The Australian share market is expected to start the week with a big gain. According to the latest SPI futures, the ASX 200 is poised to open the day 75 points or 1 per cent higher.
Wall Street: The ASX predictions for today follow a very positive end to the week on Wall Street, which saw the Dow Jones rise 1.3 per cent, the S&P 500 climb 1.1 per cent, and the Nasdaq storm 1 per cent higher.
AUD: The Australian dollar is trading at 0.7491 to the US dollar as at 7am this morning.
Oil: Energy producers could start the week strongly after oil prices stormed higher. According to Bloomberg, the WTI crude oil price is up 2.2 per cent to US$74.56 a barrel and the Brent crude oil price has risen 1.4 per cent to US$75.55 a barrel. Traders were buying oil after US inventories declined.
Gold: Gold miners could be on the rise today after the gold price pushed higher on Friday night. According to CNBC, the spot gold price rose 0.6 per cent to US$1,810.6 an ounce. The gold price had its best week in seven amid concerns over the Delta strain of COVID-19.
Space race: Sir Richard Branson has beat Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk to be the first billionaire to travel to space. “To the next generation of dreamers: if we can do this, just imagine what you can do,” he said.
Social housing: It took Talie Star about half a dozen attempts to get away from her abusive husband, but what came next was so much worse. Landlords hiked her rent, she became homeless and had to navigate a nightmare of bureaucracy. A new report details how social housing benefits dwarf the costs involved.
COVID-19 crisis: The federal government is preparing to provide further financial support for NSW as its coronavirus outbreak worsens, claiming its first death. Chief Medical Officer Paul Kelly has also warned that a resident of a Sydney aged care facility is seriously unwell in hospital.
Economic threat: The group of 20 rich countries say the economic outlook has improved since they last met in April but warn new COVID-19 variants could threaten the recovery. "We reaffirm our resolve to use all available policy tools for as long as required to address the adverse consequences of COVID-19," said the final statement by G20 finance ministers and central bankers meeting in Venice on Saturday.
China tech: Scuttled listings and share prices hammered by official threats: Beijing has launched a withering and very public assault on some of China's biggest tech names. The travails of ride-hailing giant Didi Chuxing this week carried a cautionary tale for digital big hitters: what goes up, can come down... and fast.
Super Mario: A cartridge of Nintendo's classic video game "Super Mario 64" set a world record Sunday, selling at auction for $1.56 million. The sale, the first ever of a game cartridge to surpass $1 million, came just two days after a sealed copy of "The Legend of Zelda" — made for the old Nintendo NES console — sold for a then-record of $870,000.
Have a great day.
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