Welcome to Tuesday. Here are the five things I'm looking at today on the Australian sharemarket.
- The S&P/ ASX 200(Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) has opened 0.4% higher at 5,983.7 and it's only a matter of time it seems before we crash through the 6,000 mark.The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.9% and the broader S&P 500 added 0.6% while the tech-heavy NASDAQ closed above 5,000 points for the first time since the 2000 dot.com bubble after rising 0.9%.
Crude oil prices reversed course overnight, with Brent oil dropping 4.2% to US$59.98 per barrel, while iron ore was up slightly at US$62.83 per tonne.
The Australian dollar has fallen against the US dollar and is currently buying 77.6 US cents.
- Streaming video on demand service (SVOD) Netflix has officially announced its launch date and will start streaming in Australia and New Zealand on March 24, partnering with broadband provider iiNet Limited (ASX: IIN). iiNet won't charge customers for streaming Netflix, but Australians can still use any provider to access Netflix. The move has big consequences for traditional broadcasters, as we outlined here.
- BHP Billiton Limited (ASX: BHP), once famed for making excellent counter-cyclical investment decisions, says it is looking to buy conventional oil projects to offset falling production. CEO Andrew MacKenzie was a 22-year veteran of oil major BP, and despite dismissing acquisition talk last week, has been talking up the prospect of buying more offshore oil assets. With oil prices nearly halving in the last six months, now might be the right time.Those acquisitions may not come through until the miner has settled its spinoff South32 in June 2015.
- Tweet of the Day
#RBA makes its interest rate decision at 2.30pm AEDT. Market is pricing in a 56% chance of a rate cut to 2% #ausbiz ^SD
CommSec (@CommSec) March 2, 2015Bad news for term deposits if this happens. If not, markets are likely to expect the cut to come in April.
- Stock of the Day– brought to you by Motley Fool Pro's Joe Magyer – and is actually 5 charts you need to take a look at. No, the Motley Fool hasn't become a technical trader overnight, but these charts have consequences for Australia's future. You can read more here.
