Markets Live: ASX bounces back

Loading Chart...

11:21am

Making money in a booming mobile-phone market that soared from fewer than 2 million users to more than a billion in less than two decades might have seemed like a no-brainer.

But in India, it's now looking more like a nightmare with losses for overseas companies rising to at least $US23 billion ($28.9 billion).

"The promise of a market with over one billion potential users is very attractive," said Chris Lane, a Hong Kong-based analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein. But "too many licenses, too little spectrum, high taxes and supply-constrained airwave auctions has made this a very expensive market to operate in."

Read the full story here.

10:53am

Rio Tinto Group is ready to accept a $US3.5 billion ($4.4 billion) deal with Indonesia for its interest in the giant Grasberg copper and gold mine, according to people with knowledge of the discussions.

A deal for Rio's exit still depends on US mining company Freeport-McMoRan Inc. striking an agreement to transfer some of its stake to a local firm, according to the people, who asked not be identified because the matter is confidential.

No deal has been signed and an agreement may still not be reached. Shares in Freeport jumped on the news, while Rio pared a loss in New York.

Read the full story here.

10:26am

The sharemarket gained in early trading, shaking off a downbeat lead from the futures market, with banks leading the advance.

The S&P/ASX 200 index climbed 12 points, or 0.2 per cent, to 6054 while the All Ordinaries rose 11 points, or 0.2 per cent, to 6161 and the Australian dollar slipped a touch to US75.81¢.

Futures had been pointing to a flat-to-lower start after the ASX recorded its worst loss in two months on Tuesday, dragged down by the banking sector amid an ongoing Royal Commission probe into the sector.

Banks were finding some buyers this morning, however, with Westpac up 0.8 per cent, ANZ up 0.7 per cent and CBA up 0.1 per cent.

The other heavyweight sector, miners, were also climbing in early action, with BHP up 1.2 per cent and Rio TInto higher by 0.9 per cent.

Sirtex shares fell 3 per cent to $28.92 as bidding war hopes faded with a statement from suitor Varian that it would not be making a counter offer for the firm and is sticking to its $28 a share bid.

10:11am

The US dollar's newly revived correlation with Treasury yields - a rallying cry of late for greenback bulls - may be cutting short the currency's five-week climb.

After its best run in three years, the dollar has retreated from Friday's closing levels as benchmark 10-year US yields stall out below the more than six-year high set last week.

The two assets have been moving more in sync: The 60-day correlation between the Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index and 10-year yields is the most positive since January 2017, after spending much of 2018 indicating an inverse relationship.

Read the full story here.

9:50am

Oil and gas company Santos has rejected the $14.4 billion takeover proposal from United States giant Harbour Energy and terminated all discussions with the group.

Santos said in a statement to the ASX on Tuesday evening that the final proposal from Harbour was a "highly leveraged private equity-backed structure" that prior to implementation would have required Santos to provide significant support for Harbour's debt raising and to hedge a significant proportion of oil-linked production.

Simon Evans has the full story here.

9:39am

SPI futures down 4 points or 0.1% to 6043 at about 7am AEST

AUD -0.1% to 75.76 US cents

On Wall St: Dow -0.7%, S&P 500 -0.3%, Nasdaq -0.2%

In New York, BHP -0.7% Rio -0.3%

In Europe: Stoxx 50 +0.4%, FTSE +0.2%, CAC +0.1%, DAX +0.7%

Spot gold flat at $US1292.24 at 3.13pm New York time

Brent crude +0.1% to $US79.33 a barrel

US oil -0.2% to $US72.13 a barrel

Iron ore -1.4% to $US64.41 a tonne

Dalian iron ore -0.5% to 457 yuan

LME aluminium -0.4% to $US2270 a tonne

LME copper +1.5% to $US6979 a tonne

10-year bond yield: US 3.06%, Germany 0.56%, Australia 2.86%

9:28am

SPONSORED POST

The local sharemarket is set to open slightly lower, a day after its biggest daily drop in two months, writes Ilya Spivak.

A look at the charts reveals that the uptrend from lows set in early April has been broken, initially opening the door for a test below the 6000 figure.

Futures are pointing to a 4-point drop at the open on Wednesday.

Yesterday's losses were spread across nearly every sector, with real estate names the lone grouping that managed tepid gains.

The drop in materials names is perhaps most interesting considering it comes on the heels of apparent de-escalation in trade tensions between the US and China.

It might have been expected that mining stocks would celebrate the reprieve considering their sensitivity to Chinese demand and the global business cycle at large, but this was clearly not to be.

That prices were unable to make good on supportive news flow seems telling of underlying weakness in the Australian equities space that paves the way for deeper losses ahead.