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Market Opener – 21 Sep 2017

 
Local Markets Commentary
The Australian market opens today’s trade on lacklustre international equities, but mostly positive commodities, leads. 

In overnight commodities trade, oil turned and rallied. US gold futures settled moderately higher. Iron ore swung higher. LME copper slipped, but nickel and aluminium rallied. 

The $A fell but approached US80.35c earlier this morning, after appreciating to US80.45cearly yesterday evening. 

Locally today, a Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) quarterly lending-focused bulletin plus forex transactions and assets figures are anticipated.

RBA governor Philip Lowe is also speaking at a business briefing in Perth, 3.10pm AEST

Stocks trading ex-dividend today include: AHG, CAR, CWN, FBU, SLK and SPK.

Regionally, the Bank of Japan announces outcomes from its monetary policy meeting ~1pm. The BoJ governor is expected to speak post-ASX trade.

This morning, New Zealand has reported revised June quarter GDP growth of 0.6% for the three months.

Overseas Market Commentary
Major European and US equities markets chopped and swung some before settling little changed.

The US Federal Reserve maintained its 1% - 1.25% target rate range, but revealed it would start reducing the ~$US4.5 trillion bond portfolio in October, initially by up to $US10B per month. 

Some suggested the post-policy meeting statement and media conference by chair Janet Yellen was sufficiently positive to raise the chances of an interest rate increase by year’s end. In fact, 75% of the FOMC were noted in the statement as anticipating another rise this year.

In the meantime, the OECD updated its economic growth forecasts, predicting a 3.5% rise globally for 2017, with 2.1% gains for both the US and euro zone. 

In the UK, August retail sales were reported 2.4% higher year-on-year, following a 1.4% rise for July and forecasts of 1.1%.

Among US data releases, August existing home sales fell 1.7% to the least in a year. Hurricane Harvey was cited as one reason, in addition to relatively tight supply.

Tonight in the US, weekly new unemployment claims, a leading indicators report, Philadelphia region manufacturing index and July house prices are due. Elsewhere, European Central Bank (ECB) president Mario Draghi is speaking publicly in his role as European Systemic Risk Board chairman.

In overnight corporate news, Apple soured some after conceding connectivity problems with its newly-launched smartwatch.

 
21/09/2017 7:51:00 AM

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