Welcome to Wednesday. 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 0.3% lower after Wall Street fell overnight.
In the US, the Dow Jones dropped 0.5% while the broader S&P 500 lost 0.2%, and the tech-heavy NASDAQ broke the trend with a 0.4% gain.
Oil prices fell, with Brent Crude Oil down 2.2% to US$62.08 per barrel, and WTI Crude lost 0.5% to US$56.32 per barrel. (WTI stands for West Texas Intermediate and is the benchmark oil price in the US while the Brent crude oil price is more widely used in Europe.)
The Australian dollar is steady against the US dollar and is currently buying 77.2 US cents.
- BHP Billiton Limited (ASX: BHP) has finally succumbed to the falling iron ore price. Australia's second-largest iron ore producer has deferred expansion of its Pilbara iron ore operations – which will also be another blow to construction and engineering companies.
BHP will defer its inner harbour debottlenecking project, which will lead to a slower path to 290 million tonnes per annum. The miner is forecasting to ship 230 million tonnes this financial year.
- Consumer Price Index (CPI) data, better known as inflation, is due out today – and will likely have a major impact on whether the RBA will cut rates early next month. It could also dictate the direction of our market when the data comes out later this morning.
- Tweet of the Day
WorleyParsons is in the spotlight as a takeover target after its shares spiked 14% last Friday https://t.co/1EbO9BQZk3 pic.twitter.com/aTPb5QRni1
Business Review (@aus_business) April 21, 2015
Could resources and energy services company WorleyParsons Limited (ASX: WOR) be a takeover target? - Stock of the Day – brought to you by Owen Raskiewicz – Rio Tinto Limited (ASX: RIO). The giant iron ore miner reported its quarterly production results yesterday – here's what you need to know.
