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 crashed 1.2% lower after Wall Street fell overnight.In the US, the Dow Jones and the broader S&P 500 both dropped 0.4%, while the tech-heavy NASDAQ recorded a 0.6% fall.Oil prices dipped, with Brent Crude Oil losing 0.3% to US$64.64 per barrel while WTI Crude also fell 0.3%, to US$56.92 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 has dipped against the US dollar and is currently buying 79.8 US cents.
- Well, the rally in the iron ore price was short lived after the spot price crashed 4.6% overnight. Having recovered more than 20% in the past few weeks, the topsy-turvy run for Australia's iron ore miners, including the likes of Fortescue Metals Group Limited (ASX: FMG), BC Iron Limited (ASX: BCI) and Arrium Limited (ASX: ARI) appears set to continue.The iron ore price fell to US$57.13 per tonne overnight, and where it will go is anyone's guess.
- Vocus Communications Ltd (ASX: VOC) and Amcom Communications Ltd (ASX: AMM) planned merger is in tatters after rival TPG Telecom Limited (ASX: TPM) grabbed a 17% blocking stake in Amcom yesterday. TPG says it intends to vote against the merger, although the company also says it doesn't plan to take over Amcom.
- Tweet of the Day
Do not follow the institutions. Invest where they are going to go pic.twitter.com/memUUJf9sR
MicroCapClub (@iancassel) April 30, 2015 - Stock of the Day – brought to you by Tom Richardson – Seek Limited (ASX: SEK). The online jobs leader has announced further expansion plans – good news for shareholders. You can read more here.
