Good morning! I’ll be here to guide you through the latest business and economic news.
The local share market is likely to start its day lower, with ASX futures down 0.3%.
The Australian dollar fell 0.2% to 66.6 US cents.
In economic news, the Reserve Bank will publish the minutes of its mid-June board meeting.
Investors will be dissecting each word very carefully for clues on the likelihood of the RBA board lifting interest rates in the coming months.
However, this board meeting was held before last week’s ABS figures, which showed inflation rose by a higher-than-expected 4 % in the year to May.
Tech stocks drive US markets higher
That’s despite a solid performance on Wall Street, which saw the Nasdaq Composite advance 0.8%, while the Dow Jones gained 0.1%, and the benchmark S&P 500 rose 0.3%.
The Nasdaq was driven higher by megacap growth stocks, including Apple (+2.9%), Microsoft (+2%) and Amazon (+2.2%).
Tesla surged 6.1% ahead of its June-quarter vehicle delivery data (and investors have very high expectations).
Meanwhile, shares of JP Morgan Chase hit a record high, after after the biggest US hiked its dividend to US$1.25 a share (up from US$1.15). Its board also authorised $US30 billion in share buybacks, effective July 1.
Oil prices jumped 2% (to a two-month high) on expectations of rising demand during the Northern Hemisphere’s summer driving season and worries that conflict in the Middle East could spread and reduce global oil supplies.
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