Originally published by Rivkin Securities
The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 0.7% and the S&P 500 0.4% overnight as consumer discretionary outperformed and energy substantially underperformed. Twitter (NYSE:TWTR) shares climbed almost 4% in after hours trading as it was announced the stock will be added to the S&P 500.
Today the RBA makes its interest rate decision for the month. Expectations are for no change in rates for the 21st month in a row and market pricing now doesn’t suggest a rate hike until late 2019. The economy is still moving along at a sub-par rate which is part of the reason the RBA is reluctant to hike. Yesterday, Australian retail sales data was released which showed relatively healthy sales growth for the month of April.
WTI oil continues to be weak as the market fears Saudi Arabia and Russia will begin to ramp production back up. OPEC production declined in May, relative to April, as production declines from Nigeria, Venezuela and Libya overwhelmed increases from Saudi Arabia and Iraq. Contrasting this, output from US shale continues to climb which is contributing to a large spread between WTI and Brent oil prices.
Data Releases:
- Australia Current Account 11:30am AEST
- RBA Rate Decision 2:30pm AEST