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Category: Stockmarket / Currency / Futures / Markets

Wall St flat on lack of Trump tax policy details

Tuesday, 21 Mar 2017 05:49:41 | Lucia Stein

Wall Street was treading water overnight, with blue chips a little down and tech stocks a little up. (Chip East, file photo: Reuters)

Wall Street closed flat, with a lack of clarity over President Donald Trump's policy measures continuing to weigh on investors.

Markets at 8:00am (AEDT):

  • ASX SPI 200 futures -0.1pc to 5,755
  • AUD: 77.32 US cents, 62.53 British pence, 87 Japanese yen, 71.93 euro cents, $NZ1.09
  • US: S&P 500 -0.2pc to 2,373, Dow Jones -0.04pc to 20,905, Nasdaq +0.01pc to 5,901
  • Europe: Euro Stoxx -0.29pc to 367.25, FTSE +0.07pc to 7,429, DAX -0.4pc to 12,053
  • Commodities: Gold +0.45pc to $US1,1234.20/ounce, Brent crude oil -0.2 to $US51.68/barrel

Analysts are concerned that the Trump administration may struggle to get support for its tax reform after spending too much of its political capital to pass a proposed Republican healthcare bill.

That unease continued after FBI director James Comey told a congressional hearing he had seen no evidence to support a claim by Mr Trump that Barack Obama had wiretapped his campaign headquarters in Trump Tower.

The hearings have distracted Republicans from pushing through their planned healthcare overhaul, sparking fears that the Trump administration's tax changes may take longer than expected.

Investors are also holding off for more news on the Federal Reserve's outlook.

One member of the FOMC hinted that three interest rate hikes may still be on the cards this year.

"[Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank president Patrick] Harker also expected three hikes, endorsing gradualism but also noting risks of inflation overshooting," Westpac market analyst Imre Speizer wrote in an analyst note.

In company news, Apple's share price hit a record-high in the session after a market analyst upgraded the company's stocks.

Shares in Disney also rose after its new movie, Beauty and the Beast, topped box office sales.

European stocks retreated overnight as the continued slip in oil prices weighed down stocks.

German luxury fashion house Hugo Boss was one of the worst performers in the session, falling 4.7 per cent after reports it had failed to secure an investment from Belgium company GBL.

Deutsche Bank was also under pressure overnight after it announced the terms of its capital increase.

Locally, the market is on track for a weak open.

The Australian dollar was higher at 77.3 US cents.

West Texas crude oil was lower at $US47.74 a barrel, a barrel of Tapis was worth $US52.31 and spot gold was higher at $US1,233. 

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