Good morning and welcome to the Morning Outlook. I’m Rachael Jones reporting live from Kalkine
TV Sydney studio.
(1)The Australian shares are likely to open lower this morning after Wall Street slumped
in the overnight trade on interest rate hike threat. American investors now anticipate
a full percentage point rate hike following red-hot US inflation reading for June. The
US market is also awaiting US labour force data for June and Australia is awaiting job
figures for June today from the Australian Bureau of statistics.
Meanwhile, the ASX may witness a rebound in gold and iron ore prices, while tech shares
are likely to track a weak session. The latest ASX Futures indicate that the ASX 200
would open 2 points lower. On Wednesday, the benchmark ASX 200 index ended 0.2% higher
at 6,621.6 points.
(2) Telstra has completed the acquisition of Digicel Pacific, in partnership with the
Australian Government. Telstra contributed US$270 million of equity to the US$1.6 billion
purchase price and the Australian Government, through Export Finance Australia, provided
the remaining US$1.33 billion. Telstra owns 100 per cent of the ordinary equity. Digicel
Pacific is the leading provider of communications services across PNG, Fiji, Nauru, Samoa, Tonga
and Vanuatu. The company had around 2.8 million subscribers and 1700 employees generating
US$466 million in service revenue for the financial year ended 31 March 2022.
(3) Pilbara Minerals is pleased with its latest spodumene concentrate auction, held via its
digital Battery Material Exchange platform, where a cargo of 5,000 dry metric tonnes was
sold for $US6841 a tonne. There were 41 bids received online during the 30-minute auction
window.
(4) SSE Thermal awards contract for low-carbon power station. The contract is for the development
of a proposed lowcarbon power station located in Peterhead in Scotland. The contract has
been awarded to a consortium of Worley, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Group and Tecnicas Reunidas.
The power station, equipped with associated carbon capture technology, is being developed
by SSE Thermal and Equinor and will potentially be the first of its kind in Scotland. It will
eventually support the UK’s target of net-zero emissions by 2050. The power station is expected
to be operational by 2027.
And finally there is one company set to make its debut on the ASX today. Keep an eye out
for Botala Energy (ASX:BTE), which raised $7 million at 20 cents per share. You can
find more details about this in Kalkine’s exclusive IPO corner show.
Now it’s time for a short break – but stay tuned for more news set to effect
the trading day. @@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
Welcome back to the Morning Outlook report. On Wall Street, (5) The Dow Jones fell 0.7%,
the S&P 500 declined 0.45%, and the NASDAQ ended 0.15% lower. Wall Street saw a sell-off
after June’s inflation number came in higher-than-expected. The June CPI index rose 9.1% from a year ago,
hitting a 40-year high. It was the largest rise in consumer prices in over 40 years. In
Europe, the Stoxx 50 fell 1%, the FTSE declined 0.7%, the CAC slipped 0.7%, and the DAX ended
1.2% lower. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan ended 0.43% higher, while
Japan's Nikkei rose 0.54%. Oil prices inched higher on Wednesday despite a rise
in US oil inventories. (6) Brent crude ended up 8 cents at US$99.57 a barrel.
WTI crude rose 46 cents to US$96.30 a barrel. Gold prices surged on softer US dollar. Spot
gold rose 0.8% to US$1,739.49 per ounce. Meanwhile, (7) Bitcoin last rose 1.74% to US$19,656.85.
Well, that’s all for our Morning Outlook report here on Kalkine TV. Have a great day
trading and stay tuned for more market updates and economic news live throughout the day.
This is Rachael Jones signing off for now.