ASX 200 to rise; Wall Street posts second straight quarterly fall

The Australian shares are likely to open marginally higher on the first day of new month following less than expected fall on Wall Street. However, weak underlying prices may exert pressure on domestic commodity shares.

As per the latest ASX Futures, the ASX 200 is set to open 14 points or 0.2% higher on Friday. On Thursday, the benchmark index fell 2% to 6,568.1 points.

On Wall Street, the Dow Jones slipped 0.8%, the S&P 500 dipped 0.9%, and the NASDAQ ended 1.3% lower. These three US equity indices ended June in negative and also recorded their second straight quarterly falls. The S&P 500 index recorded its steepest percentage fall in the first half since 1970.

On Thursday, the US data showed that consumer spending surged less-than-expected in May. It also suggested that prices have probably increased, forcing people to cut down on some purchases.

In Europe, the Stoxx 50 fell 1.7%, the FTSE dipped 2%, the DAX slipped 1.7%, and the CAC ended 1.8% lower.  

Bond yields

Weak US consumer spending numbers and higher consumer prices continued to fuel concerns that the Federal Reserve would control growth more than required to tame inflation. As a result, bond yields fell for the third day in a row. The 10-year bond yields fell 8.9 basis points to 3.004%.

The US dollar index fell 0.238%, while the euro rose 0.27% to US$1.0467.

Oil prices fall

Oil prices declined on Thursday on recession concerns and confirmation from OPEC and allies that they would raise output in August only by as much announced earlier.

• Brent crude futures for September delivery dipped 3% to close at US$109.03 per barrel.
• The August contract dipped 1.3% to close at US$114.81 a barrel.

Gold prices inch lower

The appeal for non-yielding yellow metal declined on hawkish tone from global central banks.

• Spot gold prices fell 0.3% to US$1,812.43 an ounce.