Welcome to Monday. 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 lower after Wall Street sank on Friday.In the US, the Dow Jones dropped 1.5% while the broader S&P 500 fell 1.1%, and the tech-heavy NASDAQ emulated the Dow with a 1.5% drop. US inflation posted a strong rise, suggesting the Federal Reserve could begin raising interest rates sooner than later.
Oil prices also fell, with Brent Crude Oil losing 0.8% to US$63.45 per barrel and WTI Crude down 1.7% to US$55.74 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 steady against the US dollar and is currently buying 76.2 US cents.
- The iron ore crash has erased an estimated $74 billion in value from Australia's major iron ore mining stocks, in particular BHP Billiton Limited (ASX: BHP) and Rio Tinto Limited (ASX: RIO).
And then you have the falls in the share prices of Fortescue Metals Group Limited (ASX: FMG), Atlas Iron Limited (ASX: AGO), Mount Gibson Iron Limited (ASX: MGX), BC Iron Limited (ASX: BCI), Grange Resources Limited (ASX: GRR) and Arrium Limited (ASX: ARI). Those six have seen their combined market cap fall 71% – or $17.2 billion. - Copper miner OZ Minerals Limited (ASX: OZL) has conducted a three-month review and says it will focus on copper as a core commodity, and will target acquisitions locally and offshore. The company also says its new strategy is focused on value creation. I'm not sure what they were doing before…
- Tweet of the Day
If you don't have $1 million set aside in superannuation, you won't retire in comfort @ruthliew https://t.co/4B6reeaC5Y via @FinancialReview
Financial Review (@FinancialReview) April 19, 2015We've said this before – as far back as February 2011.
- Stock of the Day – brought to you by Sean O'Neill – Austal Limited (ASX: ASB). Australia's only listed boat builder has just won another US contract. Sean has the details here.
