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Category: Business, Economics and Finance / Company News / Markets / Currency / Futures / Stockmarket

Wall Street higher on housing data, tech companies

Wednesday, 24 Aug 2016 05:22:59 | Thuy Ong

Investors are eyeing Janet Yellen's speech at Jackson Hole on Friday. (Reuters)

Wall Street has risen modestly, helped as some housing market data provided evidence the economy is recovering, while technology companies buoyed the Nasdaq.

Markets at 6:49am (AEST)

  • ASX SPI 200 futures +0.3% to 5,533
  • AUD: 76.1 US cents, 76.2 Japanese yen, 57.7 British pence, 67.3 euro cents, $NZ1.044
  • US: Dow Jones +0.1% to 18,547, S&P 500 +0.2% to 2,187, Nasdaq +0.3% to 5,260
  • Europe: FTSE 100 +0.6% to 6,869, DAX +0.9% to 10,593, CAC 40 +0.7% to 4,421
  • Commodities: iron ore +0.8% to $US61.60 a tonne, gold flat at $US1,338 an ounce, West Texas Crude +1.6% to $US44.96 a barrel.

Investors are staying on the sidelines ahead of a key Federal Reserve meeting at Jackson Hole in Wyoming on Friday.

Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen is speaking there, and investors will eye her comments for any clues on the timing of a rate hike.

"We saw record home sales announced overnight, inflation getting back towards their target, so the case for the Fed to start moving is very strong indeed," Bill Evans, chief economist at Westpac told RN Breakfast.

"I think we'll see evidence of that in Yellen's speech this week, but I don't expect it'll be as early as September, I think we'll be looking at December."

Meanwhile, European stocks were helped higher after a US foreign investment review board cleared ChemChina's $43 billion bid for Swiss agribusiness group Syngenta. Shares in Syngenta jumped 10.6 per cent.

The Euro STOXX index climbed 1 per cent to 324.

On commodities markets, oil prices jumped more than 1 per cent after a Reuters report stating Iran was sending positive signals it may support joint OPEC action to prop up the market.

Today's agenda

  • Australia: Boral FY result, Qantas FY result, Wesfarmers FY result, Westfield half year result, Worley Parsons FY result, Construction work done - June quarter 11:30am (AEST)
  • US: House price index - June 11pm (AEST)

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