Yahoo Finance ASX rises as Treasurer reveals Federal Budget focus
Good morning.
Here's everything you need to know about finance markets for today.
ASX: The Australian share market looks set to rise again on Thursday. According to the latest SPI futures, the ASX 200 is expected to open the day 17 points or 0.25 per cent higher this morning.
Wall Street: Wall Street weakened overnight, which saw the Dow Jones fall 0.5 per cent, the S&P 500 edge 0.1 per cent lower, and the Nasdaq drop 0.3 per cent higher. This follows the US Federal Reserve’s meeting.
AUD: The Australian dollar is trading at 0.7786 to the US dollar as at 7.35am this morning.
Oil: According to Bloomberg, the WTI crude oil price is up 1.3 per cent to US$63.74 a barrel and the Brent crude oil price has risen 1.1 per cent to US$67.09 a barrel. Optimism over fuel demand gave prices a lift.
Gold: According to CNBC, the spot gold price is up 0.2 per cent to US$1,781.90 an ounce. The gold price rose after the US Federal Reserve decided to keep rates on hold at zero.
Woolworths: Following the Coles Group Ltd third quarter update yesterday, rival Woolworths Group Ltd will be releasing one of its own this morning. According to a note out of Goldman Sachs, it expects Woolworths to report revenues of $16.3 billion for the third quarter. This will be down 1 per cent on the prior corresponding period.
Federal Budget: Josh Frydenberg says next month's budget will aim to further reduce the unemployment rate to below five per cent, while pledging to avoid a sharp pivot towards "austerity". In what is likely to be his final major speech before handing down his May 11 budget, the treasurer says despite the fall in the jobless rate to 5.
China: China has called certain Australian politicians troublemakers and urged them to "shake off the Cold War mentality" amid fierce tensions between the two nations. It comes after Home Affairs Secretary Mike Pezzullo declared the world's "drums of war" were beating and that Australia must prepare for conflict in the region.
Property investing: Property investment is certainly not rocket science and while you don’t have to be a genius to succeed in real estate, it never hurts to learn from great minds when trying to achieve great things. These Albert Einstein pearls of wisdom can help any property investor get on the right track.
Miscarriage leave: A top Aussie company has introduced paid miscarriage leave following the change in New Zealand’s law. Here’s what it could mean for you.
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