Advanced Search

Share Coverage



Category: Stockmarket / Currency / Futures / Markets

Dow Jones index continues to shy away from 20,000 barrier

Thursday, 22 Dec 2016 05:32:26 | Rebecca Hyam

Missed it by that much - the Dow reached a high of 19,987 overnight, just shy of 20,000. (Shannon Stapleton: Reuters)

All eyes were on the Dow Jones Industrial Average overnight, with the index again coming within 13 points of reaching 20,000 points for the first time.

Markets at 8:15am (AEDT):

  • ASX SPI 200 futures -0.1pc to 5,571
  • AUD: 72.5 US cents, 58.63 British pence, 85.18 Japanese yen, 69.45 euro cents, $NZ1.0492
  • US: S&P 500 -0.2pc to 2,266, Dow Jones -0.16pc to 19,941, Nasdaq -0.2pc to 5,473
  • Europe: Euro Stoxx -0.13pc to 349.13, FTSE -0.04pc to 7,041 DAX +0.03 to 11,468
  • Commodities: Gold -0.04pc to $US1,131.30/ounce, Brent crude oil -1.57pc to $US54.48/barrel

The Dow Jones Industrial Average has spent at least part of the past seven trading sessions above 19,900 points without cracking 20,000.

External Link: Missed it by that much gif

Trading volumes were becoming lighter in the lead up to Christmas and there was some concern among analysts that the drop could lead to some volatile swings within the market.

Although IG's chief market strategist Chris Weston said it seems most investors are simply happy to sit on their current positions into the Christmas break.

"Market participants are clearly winding down and while we saw ASX 200 turnover some 18 per cent below the 30-day average yesterday, I wouldn't be surprised if we saw less than $5 billion today," he wrote in a note.

"Volumes through the S&P 500 were 36 per cent below the 30-day average, while volumes were down some 40 per cent on the German DAX and of course this shouldn't surprise too greatly."

In corporate news, Twitter's chief technology officer Adam Messinger said he would leave the company after a five-year stint with the social media giant.

Twitter's shares fell by 4.6 per cent in response to the announcement.

FedEx eased by 2.3 per cent, after the package delivery firm's quarterly results missed expectations.

Consulting and outsourcing software services provider Accenture fell by more than 4 per cent after its revenue forecast came in below expectations.

Official figures revealed existing home sales for November reached 5.61 million units, while weekly mortgage applications rose 2.5 per cent.

Italian parliament approves bank bailout

European markets were also quite subdued, with a private sector deal to rescue Italy's third largest lender, Monte dei Paschi di Siena, failing to materialise.

After European stocks finished trading, Italy's Parliament approved a 20 billion euro banking industry support package.

But a currency strategist at National Australia Bank, Rodrigo Catril, wrote in his morning note that the package was criticised as too frugal.

"This in theory is good news, but under the new EU rules a government rescue means that equity and junior bond holders are now likely to suffer losses," he wrote.

"Politically, allowing losses for retail investors is not desirable and while the government is expected to find ways to compensate them, uncertainty remains on whether under these circumstances a government aid is permitted by European laws.

"Another uncertainty is whether the 20 billion euro rescue package will be enough, with many analysts suggesting a minimum of 40 billion euros is needed.

"No doubt investors will be watching how Italian bank shares open tomorrow."

Locally, shares are set for a subdued start with the ASX SPI 200 down 0.1 per cent to 5,571.

At 8:15am AEDT, the Australian dollar was worth 72.5 US cents, having fallen by 0.12 per cent overnight.

West Texas crude oil was lower at $US51.42 a barrel, the price of a barrel of Tapis had fallen to $US55 and spot gold had edged slightly lower to $US1,131.30 an ounce.

AustraliaPlus


 

Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.

沪公网安备 31010602000204号

Email this to your friend