Despite a solid performance from European markets, local shares appear set to open lower today as a result of a slump in the price of oil. The Sydney Futures Exchange is pointing to a 21-point drop at the open, equivalent to roughly 0.4%.
Here's a quick recap:
- FTSE 100 (UK): up 1.09%
- DAX (Germany): up 0.49%
- CAC 40 (France): up 0.80%
- Dow Jones (USA): down 0.13%
- NASDAQ (USA): up 0.36%
Oil prices declined heavily overnight, shedding roughly 5%. This has been attributed to a report from the US government which cited weaker declines in stockpiles than what market bulls had perhaps hoped for.
Shares of companies such as BHP Billiton Limited (ASX: BHP), Santos Ltd (ASX: STO) and Origin Energy Ltd (ASX: ORG) fell sharply earlier in the week following a decline of a similar magnitude for oil prices. It could be another tough day for investors in that sector.
The gold sector, on the other hand, will be hoping for further gains today as uncertainty continues to mount in the post-Brexit world. Silver Lake Resources Limited. (ASX: SLR) will be one company in focus after it announced it was achieving gold sales guidance of 132,400 ounces in financial year 2016, while it expects to sell up to 145,000 ounces in the new financial year.
In the small-cap space, both iSignthis Ltd (ASX: ISX) and Pro-Pac Packaging Limited (ASX: PPG) will attract attention today.
iSignthis shares soared 31.4% yesterday when the company announced it had executed an agreement with global online currency trading platform XM.COM. Today, it also announced a partnership agreement with a binary options platform trader, TRADOLOGIC, which could reap further gains.
Pro-Pac Packaging, on the other hand, could be scrutinised after its CEO Peter Sutton resigned to 'pursue private business interests'.
Meanwhile, technology group Stargroup Ltd (ASX: STL) reported record results today whilst also taking the opportunity to propose a $180,000 capital raising (before costs) by way of a placement. Given that the offer will be limited to existing sophisticated shareholders, retail shareholders mightn't be too happy about being excluded from consideration.
