ASX rises as escalating COVID-19 outbreak causes economic concern

EOFY is here. This is everything you need to know about finance markets and your tax. Source: Yahoo Finance/Getty

Good morning.

Here's everything you need to know about finance markets for today.

Tax time: It's the last day of the financial year so you have just until the end of the day to buy anything you want to claim on this year's tax return. Then you can figure out your tax bracket, work out if you're going to lodge with an agent or DIY and keep on top of all the dates you need to know to avoid a $1,110 fine. If you get stuck, we're here to help - Yahoo Finance has put together a list of everything you need to know about EOFY 2021 and exactly who and what the ATO is scrutinising this year.

ASX: The Australian share market looks set to push higher on Wednesday. According to the latest SPI futures, the ASX 200 is expected to open the day 25 points or 0.35 per cent higher this morning.

Wall Street: It was a reasonably positive night of trade on Wall Street which saw the Dow Jones and S&P 500 rise slightly and the Nasdaq push 0.2 per cent higher.

AUD: The Australian dollar is trading at 0.7517 to the US dollar as at 7am this morning.

Oil: Energy producers could be on the rise on Wednesday after oil prices pushed higher. According to Bloomberg, the WTI crude oil price is up 0.65 per cent to US$73.40 a barrel and the Brent crude oil price is up 0.6 per cent to US$75.11 a barrel. Oil prices rose after demand hopes offset concerns that the Delta variant of COVID-19 is reducing mobility globally.

Gold: It could be a tough day for gold miners after the gold price sank overnight. According to CNBC, the spot gold price is down 1.1 per cent to US$1,761.40 an ounce. The precious metal fell to an 11-week low amid concerns that a strong U.S. jobs report this week could cement the Federal Reserve’s recent hawkish stance.

Cryptocurrency: Cryptocurrencies were broadly higher on Tuesday morning, continuing to recover from an earlier slump, despite more regulatory action. Bitcoin was up 1.6 per cent, trading at $35,249. Ethereum, the world’s second largest cryptocurrency, was up 8 per cent, trading at $2,158. Cryptos had slumped amid news of regulatory crackdown in China, but since then they have been rising steadily higher.

Bitcoin billionaire: The unexpected death of a controversial investor has left behind a bitcoin fortune estimated to be worth more than $2 billion. Mircea Popescu drowned off the coast of Costa Rica at the age of 41, according to local reports. Online speculation has centered around what will happen to his cryptocurrency fortune.

Wake up call: This week's release of the Intergenerational Report should be a wake-up call for Australia's politicians and the community more broadly, the Business Council of Australia says. The five-yearly report that provides a guide for Australia's outlook projected budget deficits, slower economic growth and a smaller population over the next four decades as a result of the pandemic.

Loan stress: A new report warns an environment where credit growth is far outpacing income growth is unsustainable and will trigger a response from Australia's financial regulators. Moody's Analytics, which operates independently from the Moody's Investors Service credit rating agency, estimates that 20 per cent of Australia's population is under "mortgage stress".

Social housing: There are some 436,000 social housing dwellings in Australia, accommodating more than 800,000 people. But the nation's social stock is not keeping pace with growth in the rest of the housing sector, a new report released on Wednesday by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare showed.

Finfluencers: The corporate watchdog is on the lookout for social media content that looks too much like financial advice. So who are these ‘finfluencers’?

Starlink: Billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk says that his Starlink venture was growing quickly as he forecast total investment costs in the satellite internet business at between US$20 billion and US$30 billion.

G20: G20 foreign ministers have called for multilateral cures for global crises like the COVID-19 pandemic and climate change at their first face-to-face meeting in two years. The one-day gathering in the heat-soaked southern Italian city of Matera focused on how to improve co-operation, revive the world's economy following the pandemic and boost development in Africa.

Have a great day.

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