Welcome to Thursday. 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 flat, despite gains on Wall Street overnight.
In the US, the Dow Jones gained 0.2% while the broader S&P 500 was up 0.3% and the tech-heavy NASDAQ posted a 0.8% jump.Oil prices were mixed, with Brent Crude Oil smashed down 6% to US$55.55 per barrel, and WTI Crude added 1% to hit US$50.90 per barrel. (WTI stands for West Texas Intermediate and is the benchmark oil price in the US while the Brent crude oil price is more widely used in Europe.)
The Australian dollar is up against the US dollar and is currently buying 76.7 US cents.
- Fortescue Metals Group Limited (ASX: FMG) could come under selling pressure today, with news that bond investors are selling out of billions of dollars of debt issued by the company. According to Bloomberg data, US bonds issued by Fortescue as well as gold miner St Barbara Ltd (ASX: SBM) and mining services companies Ausdrill Limited (ASX: ASL) and Emeco Holdings Ltd (ASX: EHL) are trading at discounts to par value of between 74 cents and 85 cents.Fortescue has another headwind too. China has halved the tax rate it charges its domestic iron ore miners, in an effort to offset the dominance of BHP Billiton Limited (ASX: BHP), Rio Tinto Limited (ASX: RIO), Fortescue and Brazil's Vale. That means higher cost Chinese miners can continue to produce iron ore, and not exit the market.
- Like iron ore stocks, Australia's oil and gas stocks are under the pump too, following a more than 50% fall in the price of oil since June 2014. Now, experts suggest that the energy market will remain 'challenged' for several years.
Global engineering group AMEC Foster Wheeler's Ian McHoul has told the Australian Financial Review, "Who knows when it's going to bounce back? We feel like it's going to be a challenged market in oil and gas for a year or two."
- Tweet of the Day
Apple Unveils Sleek New Tax Haven https://t.co/KDiXlxbfV4 #auspol pic.twitter.com/vkpQjLBwtF
The Shovel (@The_Shovel_) April 8, 2015Just for some fun. Enjoy!
- Stock of the Day – brought to you by Ryan Newman – MYOB Group Ltd. MYOB is set to list on the ASX in May. Here's what you need to know.
