Yahoo Finance Yahoo Finance's morning wrap for Wednesday
Good morning.
Here’s everything you need to know in finance this morning.
What’s happening in stocks? The Australian share market looks likely to drop lower on Wednesday. According to the latest SPI futures, the ASX 200 is poised to open the day 19 points or 0.3 per cent lower this morning. This follows a disappointing night of trade on Wall Street which late in the session sees the Dow Jones down 0.7 per cent, the S&P 500 off 0.6 per cent, and the Nasdaq 0.6 per cent lower. Investors have been hitting the sell button amid concerns that the upcoming U.S. earnings season may be weaker that expected.
IMF warns of global slowdown: The International Monetary Fund has warned that global economic growth is slowing more than expected and a sharp downturn could require world leaders to co-ordinate stimulus measures. The |IMF cut its global economic growth forecasts for 2019 and said key risks included a US-China trade war and a potentially disorderly British exit from the European Union.
World’s first commercial drone: The world’s first commercial drone deliveries are underway in Australia after aviation authorities granted a license to a Google-funded startup. Australia’s Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) gave approval to Wing to deliver packages via drone, after a trial of the service proved successful. Only around 100 homes in the suburbs of Canberra will initially be eligible for the drone deliveries, though a wider roll-out is expected.
Aussie home loans rebound: Australian home loan lending bounced in February, coinciding with the conclusion of the Banking and Financial Services Royal Commission. The pickup in lending to investors, in particular, was somewhat of a surprise given the trends in prior months, lifting for the first time since July last year.
Why the Federal Budget didn’t go down well with Australians: Australians don’t appear to have been all that impressed with the federal budget. ANZ Bank’s consumer confidence index fell modestly, largely due to weaker readings on current family finances and household spending. Australia’s federal election will be held at some point in May.
MPs endorse PM May’s Brexit delay request: British parliament has backed Prime Minister Theresa May’s request to delay Brexit until June 30 as she seeks the EU’s support so she can formulated a new deal.
Oil prices drop: Oil prices edged lower on Tuesday, slipping off five-month highs after the International Monetary Fund cut its global economic growth forecasts and as Russia signalled it may retreat from its production-cutting deal with OPEC.
China wants to ban bitcoin mining: China’s state planner wants to eliminate bitcoin mining in the country, according to a draft list of industrial activities the agency is seeking to stop in a sign of growing government pressure on the cryptocurrency sector.
Tesla cuts back: Tesla followed a disappointing deliveries report by cutting another swath of sales staff across the US, as the electric-car maker continues to pare back personnel and shift its ordering process online.
Have a great day.
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