Yahoo Finance ASX rises higher, shaking off VIC lockdown gloom
Good morning.
Here's everything you need to know for finance markets this morning.
ASX: The Australian share market looks set to push higher 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: It was a mildly positive night of trade on Wall Street, which saw the Dow Jones rise 0.1 per cent, the S&P 500 climb 0.15 per cent, and the Nasdaq push 0.15 per cent higher.
AUD: The Australian dollar is trading at 0.7753 to the US dollar as at 7.40am this morning.
Oil: Energy producers will be on watch after oil prices pushed higher again. According to Bloomberg, the WTI crude oil price is up 1.6 per cent to US$68.77 a barrel and the Brent crude oil price has risen 1.5 per cent to US$71.31 a barrel. OPEC’s supply discipline and growing demand is supporting prices.
Gold: Gold miners could trade higher today after the gold price strengthened overnight. According to CNBC, the spot gold price is up 0.3 per cent to US$1,911 an ounce. The gold price rose after US yields eased.
Cryptocurrency: Dogecoin, the meme cryptocurrency, is rallying in the wake of a new exchange listing while bitcoin remains confined in a narrowing price range, having shaken out newbies and small investors with a 35 per cent price crash in May.
Crypto theft: Nearly 7,000 people lost more than $80 million to cryptocurrency theft between October 2020 and March 2021 — a 1,000 per cent increase from a year ago, according to the Federal Trade Commission. The scams include fake currency exchanges and phony “investment” websites selling the currency. More recently, more than $10 million was stolen in various cryptocurrencies in the days leading up to Elon Musk’s appearance on “Saturday Night Live.”
Ransomware threats: US President Joe Biden is reviewing the threat posed by ransomware attacks and will discuss the issue of harbouring such hackers with Russian President Vladimir Putin this month, the White House says.
Aussie students: Federal Education Minister Alan Tudge wants universities to return to face-to-face learning as soon as possible where coronavirus restrictions have eased. Tudge believes too few university students are on campus.
VIC disaster payment: Victorians impacted by the coronavirus lockdown could be offered payments similar to Commonwealth cash distributed after fires and floods. Treasurer Josh Frydenberg was adamant the state had the capacity to respond to its initial one-week lockdown.
China babies: Over half of China's couples are hesitant to make babies, which combined with the already aging population could spell trouble for the country's economy. But it's not just China which is affected, the knock on effect for the rest of the world could be disastrous. Here's what's happening and what it means for Australia.
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