Yahoo Finance Stocks rise, Bitcoin crashes, Tasman bubble opens
Good morning.
Here's everything you need to know about finance markets for today.
ASX: The Australian share market looks set to start the week on a very positive note. This follows a solid finish to the week on Wall Street. According to the latest SPI futures, the ASX 200 is expected to open the week 35 points or 0.5 per cent higher this morning.
Wall Street: The three main Wall Street indexes ended higher on Friday, with the S&P; 500 and the Dow breaking closing records, as investors took strong economic data and bank earnings as signs of momentum in the US pandemic rebound.
AUD: The Australian dollar is trading at 0.7726 to the US dollar as of 7.30am this morning.
Oil: According to Bloomberg, the WTI crude oil price fell 0.5 per cent to US$63.13 a barrel and the Brent crude oil price dropped 0.25per cent to US$66.77 a barrel. That wasn’t enough to stop both WTI and Brent crude oil recording solid weekly gains. This was driven by optimism over a recovery in demand.
Gold: According to CNBC, the spot gold price rose 0.6 per cent to US$1,777.30 an ounce. The easing of bond yields led to the precious metal having its best week in four months.
Bitcoin: Bitcoin is experiencing a massive sell-off, shedding almost 15 per cent in the last 24 hours — the biggest intraday drop since February. The drop appears to coincide with reports that the US Treasury is planning to tackle financial institutions for money laundering carried out through digital assets.
Tasman bubble: Prime Minister Scott Morrison has hailed the opening up of the Australia-New Zealand travel bubble as a "win-win" for both countries. Travellers from Australia are once again able to cross the Tasman quarantine-free after more than a year of tight border restrictions, with the first flight having left Sydney at around 6am this morning.
China: China has recorded its fastest annual economic growth on record, its latest GDP figures have revealed. Its economy expanded 0.6 per cent in the March quarter after growing 3.2 per cent in the December quarter. In short, the Chinese economy is going gangbusters, and it's great news for Australia. Here's why.
Uber Eats: UberEats reported 74 serious incidents - including three deaths - involving its delivery riders in NSW last year, according to the state's workplace safety regulator. The Safework NSW information was tabled in state parliament ahead of the resumption of a committee inquiry into the gig economy.
Renewable energy: Despite South Australia's success with renewable energy, gas will continue to play a key role in the state's energy mix under a $1 billion deal with the federal government. The plan includes a $660 million commitment from the Commonwealth and $440 million from SA.
Code testing: A recent breach has prompted fears of another SolarWinds-style hack that could have ramifications for numerous large companies. Reuters reports that US federal officials are investigating a hack at Codecov, a code testing firm with 29,000 customers that include Proctor & Gamble, the Washington Post and tech companies like Atlassian and GoDaddy. The intrusion appears to have lasted for months, putting clients at risk.
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