Soft and subdued international leads point to an Asia Pacific trading session dominated by local news. Chinese inflation and Japanese industrial production reads will provide the back drop for further corporate reporting.
European share indices fell in overnight trading. The US dollar meandered downward after weaker than forecast retail sales numbers and higher jobless claims, and bonds rallied. Commodity markets gave mixed signals, with good gains for oil and copper but ongoing support for gold. Global markets are highly sensitive to news of US / China trade negotiations, and overnight indications of potential extensions of tariff imposition deadlines offset the negative numbers.
After disappointment from AMP and Telstra dragged on the Australia 200 index yesterday it’s likely today’s reports will dominate the action. Online property group Domain took a massive goodwill write down after a further slump in listings and activity, which may see its share price hit an all-time low. Medibank Private’s income took a hit as investment income fell. On a brighter note Whitehaven Coal announced a special dividend after a 19% lift in profits. However an overall impression of misses could see the market finish in the red.
