Originally published by Rivkin Securities
A quiet start to the week is expected today on local markets after a dull end to the week globally on Friday night. Eurozone shares were flat on Friday, but the S&P 500 rose 0.2%, helped by health care stocks as President Trump’s plans to try and cut US drug prices fell flat with investors. That saw the overnight S&P/ASX 200 futures end 4 points or 0.1% higher which suggests a small gain on the ASX this morning.
The US earnings season continues to wind down this week, with around 10 S&P 500 companies expected to report results - most of those will be retailers, led by the giant Walmart (NYSE:WMT).
On to commodities, and on the whole it was a positive week for commodities with gold, oil, copper, silver and iron ore all enjoying gains. Oil led the way with President Trump’s decision to abandon the Iran nuclear deal leaving prices higher over the week, despite Friday’s slight retreat. US gold futures eased on Friday, but still managed to finish higher over the week as the US dollar eased from recent highs. Comex June gold fell $US1.60, or 0.1%, to settle at $US1,320.70 an ounce in New York. That was a gain of around 0.5% for the week and the first rise in four weeks.
Data Releases:
- No Significant Data