Summary
- S&P500 declined 0.13 per cent to 3,668.10 points; Dow Jones ended lower 0.23 per cent at 29,999.26 points in yesterday’s session.
- Termination of COVID-19 vaccine being developed by University of Queensland, CSL after it delivered false positive HIV results.
- Australian dollar continues to move on an upward trajectory.
ASX 200 on Friday opened 20 points lower at 6683.1 after a weak night of global trade and concerns around termination of COVID-19 vaccine agreement by the University of Queensland and CSL. The concern which may negatively impact investor sentiment today is related to the termination of the coronavirus vaccine being developed by the University of Queensland and CSL after it delivered false positive HIV results. Wall Street closed largely lower as release of dismal economic data continued. The investors are also keenly tracking talks over future stimulus packages.
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While the S&P500 declined 0.13 per cent to 3,668.10 points, while the Nasdaq ended 0.54 per cent higher at 12,405.81 points. Dow Jones ended lower 0.23 per cent at 29,999.26 points on Thursday. ASX 200 ended down by 45.4 points, or 0.67 per cent, to 6683.10 yesterday. The top gainers for the day are IGO Limited (ASX:IGO) and Eagers Automotive Ltd (ASX:APE), up 21.88 per cent and 7.24 per cent, respectively.
Whereas top losers were Breville Group Limited (ASX:BRG) and Omni Bridgeway Limited (ASX:OBL), losing 2.95 per cent and 2.89 per cent in early trade.
The index has gained 0.25 per cent in the last five days, as per the current price of 6653 (as at 11:31 AM). However, it has remained virtually unchanged over the last year to date. During the early session most of the sectoral indices are trading with a downtick. ASX 200 Consumer Discretionary and ASX 200 financials are down by 0.62 per cent and 0.68 per cent respectively.
All other broader market indices namely; ASX 20, ASX 50 and ASX 100 were all trading with a 0.62 per cent, 0.61 per cent and 0.48 per cent downtick respectively.
READ MORE: Market Close Commentary; 10 December 2020
Australian dollar hits new high
Buoyant over improvement in global growth and coronavirus vaccine roll-out, the Australian dollar touched its highest levels in two and a half years against the US dollar yesterday. The Australian currency closed massively up by 1.2 per cent to 75.32 US cents. It is the highest level recorded since June 2018. So far this year, the Australian dollar has gained over 7 per cent against the US dollar.
