The S&P/ASX 200 (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) is set to open slightly lower today after the Australian dollar plunged below US75 cents overnight. It was fetching US74.69 at around 8:00am Sydney time.
Here's a quick recap:
- FTSE 100 (UK): down 0.63%
- DAX (Germany): down 0.66%
- CAC 40 (France): down 0.78%
- Dow Jones (USA): down 0.29%
- NASDAQ (USA): up 0.36%
It was another interesting night for commodity markets with iron ore, gold and oil all slipping in price.
BHP Billiton Limited (ASX: BHP), Rio Tinto Limited (ASX: RIO) and Fortescue Metals Group Limited (ASX: RIO) all fell heavily on Wednesday and could be set for more pain today after iron ore fell 0.4%, according to The Metal Bulletin.
Meanwhile, gold prices retreated to US$1,225 an ounce. That could weigh on St Barbara Ltd (ASX: SBM) and Beadell Resources Ltd (ASX: BDR) and reverse some of yesterday's impressive rebound.
Investors will be hopeful for a recovery by Aconex Ltd (ASX: ACX) after Wednesday's 5.6% dip. The same goes for iCar Asia Ltd (ASX: ICQ) and Thorn Group Ltd (ASX: TGA).
A number of companies will hold their annual general meetings today as well, which typically garner some interest from investors. Among them are BHP Billiton, Village Roadshow Ltd (ASX: VRL), Sonic Healthcare Limited (ASX: SHL) and New Hope Corporation Limited (ASX: NHC), as well as Platinum Asset Management Limited (ASX: PTM) and Infigen Energy Ltd (ASX: IFN).
