Welcome to Monday and the start of a new trading week. Here are the five things I'm looking at today on the Australian sharemarket.
- The S&P/ ASX 200(Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) has opened 1.0% higher.On Friday, the Dow Jones gained 1.1%, the broader S&P 500 climbed 1.3%, while the NASDAQ soared 1.4%.
It was the first time the S&P 500 had posted a positive close in six days. Energy stocks soared as oil prices gained after the International Energy Agency lower its forecasts for oil supplies from outside OPEC and said that prices could recover.
The Australian dollar is virtually unchanged at 82.2 US cents.
- Brent oil gained US$1.90 to climb above the US$50 mark, a gain of near 4%, which should provide some support for our under-pressure oil stocks including Woodside Petroleum Limited (ASX: WPL), Santos Ltd (ASX: STO), Oil Search Limited (ASX: OSH) and Origin Energy Ltd (ASX: ORG). The four stocks are down 19%, 47%, 25% and 27% respectively in the past six months, as oil prices crashed by more than 50%.
- FXCM Inc, the largest US retail foreign exchange brokerage saw its share price crash 90% in premarket trading, after saying clients owe $225 million on their accounts.That comes after the Swiss Central Bank removed the cap on the Swiss franc, which saw the currency soar as much as 41% higher versus the Euro. A number of foreign exchange businesses have reported issues, and one New Zealand company, Global Brokers NZ suffered a total loss of capital and was forced to close.
Yet another reason for retail investors to avoid currency trading.
- Tweet of the Day
#Macquarie Group $MQG sees FY profit up by between 10-20% on lower #AUD and improved trading conditions #ausbiz #banks #investmentbank
Matthew Taylor (@MattCNBC) January 18, 2015Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX: MQG) raises profit guidance, thanks mainly to Australian dollar falling.
- Stock of the Day– brought to you by Simon Chan – is actually a number of stocks that could benefit like Macquarie above, if the Australian dollar continues to fall. You can read more here.
