The futures market is pointing to a slight gain for the S&P/ASX 200 (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) at the opening bell, despite a rough night on Wall Street amid escalating tensions with North Korea.
Here's a quick recap:
- FTSE 100 (UK): down 0.13%
- DAX (Germany): up 0.02%
- CAC 40 (France): down 0.27%
- Dow Jones (USA): down 0.24%
- NASDAQ (USA): down 0.88%
Wall Street fell sharply overnight, but rebounded later in the session when North Korea accused the United States of having declared war. The White House has since responded that that is absurd. Nevertheless, that news could play on investors' minds today.
On the other hand, gold shares such as Newcrest Mining Limited (ASX: NCM) and Evolution Mining Ltd (ASX: EVN) could benefit from the heightened level of uncertainty. The gold price has risen about 1% to US$1,310 an ounce.
The Sydney Airport Holdings Ltd (ASX: SYD) share price could also be in focus today after it suffered long delays following an air traffic control system failure yesterday. The shares rose 1.3% on Monday.
Orocobre Limited (ASX: ORE) was one of the biggest movers on Monday, sliding 4.3% which suggests it could receive more attention today. The same goes for a2 Milk Company Ltd (Australia) (ASX: A2M) which rose 3.6%, making it the top-performer from the ASX 200 cohort.
