The ASX is heading for a big fall this morning after Wall Street took fright for a second time last week and fell heavily.
Eurozone shares fell 0.4% on Friday and the US S&P 500 fell 2.4% as rising coronavirus cases halted reopening in some US states.
That saw ASX 200 futures slump 91 points or 1.6% pointing to a weak start that will likely reverse Friday’s 1.5% rise in the index.
The higher gold price will help market sentiment today, but that won’t be enough to offset the impact of the futures slide.
It’s likely the ASX is heading for a weak ending to the financial year tomorrow given the growing fears about COVID-19 infections in the US, Brazil, Indonesia, India, and much of Africa.
Oil prices fell, the iron ore price was basically flat and metal prices rose. The $A rose slightly to 68.65, up 0.30 as the $US fell.
US shares fell, 1.8% Eurozone shares lost 1.7% last week but Japanese shares rose just 0.1% and Chinese shares rose 1% although they were closed for much of the week.
The weak global lead and concerns about rising coronavirus cases in Victoria also drove a 0.6% fall in the ASX 200 with sharp declines in energy, industrial, IT, and property shares.
Bond yields generally fell although they were basically flat in Australia.
Friday saw a bank-inspired $26 billion rise in the ASX on Friday but the rally wasn’t quite enough for the benchmark index to finish a volatile week in the black. The S&P/ASX 200 jumped 86.4 points, or 1.5%, to close at 5904.1.
