Morning (AM) Market Report

Details

Published on Wednesday, 07 September 2016 00:00

U.S. shares finished modestly higher overnight after investors saw weak services sector data as suggesting the Federal Reserve may stand pat on interest rates in the near term.

Wednesday, 7th September, 2016

According to media reports, the Institute for Supply Management's nonmanufacturing index fell to 51.4 percent last month from 55.5 percent in July--the slowest pace of growth since 2010.

By the close the Nasdaq had gained 0.5%, while the S&P 500 and Dow Jones were both up around 0.3%.

In corporate news, Bayer (BAYN) has again upped its takeover offer for Monsanto. Both companies confirmed an updated offer of $127.50 per share, up from the previous proposal of $125. Bayer began its pursuit of Monsanto by offering $122 per share in late June.

For Australian ADRs listed on the NYSE, BHP Billiton added 98 cents (3.20%) to $31.60, ResMed gained 41 cents (0.61%) to $67.47, Telstra Corporation rose 18 cents (0.93%) to $19.62, Spark New Zealand added 54 cents (3.92%) to $14.30 and Westpac gained 41 cents (1.84%) to $22.68. At 8:00 am (AEST), the 10-year Treasury note yield was 1.53% and the 5-year yield was 1.12%.

European markets finished mixed. Britain's FTSE 100 and the French CAC 40 declined 0.8% and 0.2%, respectively, while the German DAX added 0.1%. Asian markets rallied. By Tuesday's close, the Nikkei 225 and India's Sensex had gained 0.3% and 1.6%, respectively, while the Hang Seng and Shanghai Composite had risen 0.6% each.

Ahead of the local open, SPI futures were 10 points lower at 5,401.