Yahoo Finance ASX to drop ahead of this week's Budget 2021
Good morning.
Here's everything you need to know for finance markets today.
ASX: The Australian share market looks set to start the week with a small decline despite a solid finish on Wall Street. According to the latest SPI futures, the ASX 200 is expected to open the week 4 points lower this morning.
Wall Street: On Wall Street on Friday, the Dow Jones rose 0.65 per cent, the S&P 500 climbed 0.75 per cent, and the Nasdaq stormed 0.9 per cent.
AUD: The Australian dollar is trading at 0.7851 to the US dollar as at 7.30am this morning.
Oil: According to Bloomberg, the WTI crude oil price rose 0.3 per cent to US$64.90 a barrel and the Brent crude oil price climbed 0.3 per cent to US$68.28 a barrel. Oil prices added 2 per cent for the week.
Gold: According to CNBC, the spot gold price recorded a 0.85 per cent gain to US$1,767.0 an ounce. The precious metal had its best week in six months.
Iron ore: According to Metal Bulletin, the spot iron ore price rose US$10.37 per tonne or 5.1 per cent to US$212.25 per tonne on Friday night.
Budget 2021: Super: More older Australians will be able to use some of the profit from the sale of the family home to top up their superannuation, under changes to be announced in the federal budget.
Budget 2021: Infrastructure: The federal budget will include at least $5 billion in funding for infrastructure projects aimed at making roads safer, reducing travel times and supporting thousands of jobs.
Dogecoin: The value of dogecoin plummeted from record highs over the weekend after Elon Musk’s Saturday Night Live appearance, disappointing investors who tried to push the coin to $1. Analysts had expected the Tesla CEO or the "Dogefather" to mention the meme-inspired crypto on SNL and send prices spiking, instead his plug saw the coin crash nearly 25 per cent from $0.69 to $0.48 a few minutes into his stint.
Aged care: Treasurer Josh Frydenberg has promised a much-needed $10 billion-plus aged care package spread over four years in his third budget on Tuesday. While larger that was has been speculated in the media, it is still seen as inadequate after years of neglect in the sector.
Jobs: A new study has found employment and hours worked have held steady despite the removal of key support measures that were in place during the heat of the pandemic. Both the successful JobKeeper wage subsidy and coronavirus JobSeeker supplement ended in March.
COVID passport: Almost three-quarters of Australians would back a COVID-19 vaccine passport, a new poll shows, as health officials weigh up a potential nationwide policy. In the first survey of Australian attitudes to a jab mandate, 73 per cent of respondents agreed the government should make it compulsory for work, travel and study.
Holgate: Ex-Australia Post boss Christine Holgate has a new job at a parcel deliveries business. She's joining Toll Global Express as the new CEO and plans to grow its eCommerce sales and delivery operations in competition with her old employer.
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