Netflix boosts Wall Street, ASX to open higher amid global rally
Updated
Australian shares are likely to open higher today amid a global rally — even though mining stocks are expected to come under pressure.
Market snapshot at 8:25am (AEDT):
- ASX SPI 200 futures +0.3pc at 6,003, ASX 200 (Tuesday's close) +0.8pc at 6,037
- AUD: 80.01 US cents, 57.13 British pence, 65.05 Euro cents, 88.27 Japanese yen, $NZ1.09
- US: Dow Jones flat at 26,211, S&P 500 +0.2pc at 2,839, Nasdaq +0.7pc at 7,460
- Europe: FTSE +0.2pc at 7,732, DAX +0.7pc at 13,560, Euro Stoxx 50 +0.2pc at 3,672
- Commodities: Brent crude +1.6pc at $US70.14/barrel, spot gold +0.5pc at $US1,340.66/ounce, iron ore -2.3pc at $US74.29/tonne
Metals and Aussie dollar weaken
Metal prices fell overnight — iron ore and copper fell 2 per cent, and aluminium prices shed 1 per cent.
Adding to that picture, the US-listed shares of BHP and Rio Tinto traded lower overnight.
The Australian dollar was slightly lower across the board, impacted by the weaker commodity prices.
It has fallen 0.25 per cent to 79.98 US cents.
The local currency has also dropped against the British pound (-0.3pc), euro (-0.5pc), Japanese yen (-0.8pc) and New Zealand dollar (-0.6pc).
However, gold and oil prices received a boost after the International Monetary Fund (IMF), on Tuesday, boosted its outlook for global economic growth to 3.9 per cent.
The spot price of gold has lifted by 0.5 per cent to $US1,341 an ounce.
Brent crude has jumped by 1.7 per cent to just over $US70 a barrel.
Netflix and tech boost Wall St
The S&P 500 and Nasdaq posted fresh records, while the Dow Jones ended the day just below breakeven point.
The blue-chip Dow index was weighed down by a fall in the share prices of Johnson & Johnson (-4.3pc) and Procter & Gamble (-3.1pc).
The Nasdaq saw the biggest gains, up by 0.7 per cent, after a boost in technology shares — in particular, Netflix.
Netflix shares surged by 10 per cent, and its total market value has now exceeded $US100 billion.
This was after the video-streaming pioneer beat market expectations for subscriber-growth in its quarterly results.
The company said it added 8.3 million new subscribers in the fourth quarter — which was higher than expected result of 6 million subscribers.
Meanwhile in Asia, Hong Kong's Hang Seng index hit a record-high, while Japan's Nikkei closed at its highest level in 26 years.
The positive investor sentiment was also evident in Europe, with Germany's DAX also hitting a fresh record — lifting by 0.7 per cent to 13,560.
Topics: stockmarket, company-news, economic-trends, currency, australia
First posted
