ASX futures point to weak start; Westpac pays 58c dividend
Summary
- ASX futures were down 7 points, or 0.1% this morning. The index finished last week lower at 7017 points, but was up about 125 points for the month of April.
- Wall Street slipped from record highs on Friday. The Dow Jones fell 0.5%, the S&P500 was down 0.7%, and the Nasdaq dropped 0.9%
- The big banks will be in focus this week, with Westpac reporting half-year results today, followed by ANZ on Wednesday, NAB on Thursday, and Macquarie Group also reports its full-year results on Friday
- Westpac’s half-year profits rebounded 256% from the depressed levels of 12 months ago to $3.5b, while the bank will pay a 58 cent interim dividend after axing last year’s payout
- Iron ore fell 1.4% to $US188.85 a tonne on Friday, while oil prices slipped about 2%. Gold was flat
Market watch
ASX futures down 7 points, or 0.1% to 7001.0
- Australian dollar at 77.14 US cents
- Wall Street on Friday: Dow -0.5%, S&P500 -0.7%, Nasdaq -0.9%
- Europe: Stoxx50 -0.6%, FTSE +0.1%, DAX -0.1%, CAC -0.5%
- Spot gold -0.2% to $US1769.13 per ounce
- Brent crude -1.9% to $US66.76 a barrel, US oil -2.2% to $US63.58 a barrel
- Iron ore -1.4% to $US188.85 a tonne
- 10-year yield: US 1.63% Australia 1.74% Germany -0.20%
- Bitcoin -0.5% to $US56,565
Good morning
Hello and welcome to today’s session of Markets Live.
In the first trading day for May, your editors are Alex Druce and Lucy Battersby. Futures are soft, but the excitement about banking stocks is real.
This blog is not intended as financial advice.
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Source: Thanks smh.com