Originally published by Rivkin Securities
For most of the session the Dow Jones Industrial Average traded flat but in the last two hours, a fairly rapid sell-off occurred. This brought the index down to close -1.5% while the S&P 500 also lost 1.1%. Healthcare, energy and materials were three of the worst performing sectors. There was no obvious catalyst for the sell off but it brought to a close a February that was the weakest for the S&P 500 in nine years.
Gold prices held up overnight and closed virtually flat while oil declined 2.3% as a result of an increase in US inventories last week. The market seems unsure whether the recent inventory increases are just a temporary reversal that has persisted for many months now or whether it represents a change in trend.
The Australian dollar fell against the US dollar overnight currently trading at a two-month low of $0.776. The weakness overnight is partly due to a climb in the US Dollar Index.
Today Australia will release Private Capital Expenditure data which is expected to have climbed by 1% for the fourth quarter of 2017. This is considered to be a leading indicator of economic health as businesses invest in new capital equipment when they are confident in the economic outlook.
The S&P/ASX 200 has opened 0.7% lower this morning.
Data Releases:
- Australia Private Capital Expenditure 11:30am AEDT