1 October we become SureStone CapitalSame team, same ABN. Our website and email addresses move to surestone.com.au.
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Investors turned risk averse overnight amid building US-Iran tensions, which saw the US dollar rise and equity markets fall. The local market is set to open lower this morning having hit an intra-day record yesterday, with ASX futures pointing down 0.5%.
Locally, among the companies with earnings results, Rio Tinto has posted its weakest result in 6 years with net profit for the full year falling 14% to US$9.97 billion. And insurer QBE's full-year net profit rose 20% to $US2.16 billion.
The US trade deficit widened sharply in December amid a surge in imports, despite President Trump's tariffs on foreign manufactured merchandise. The trade gap increased by almost 33% to more than $70 billion, while the goods trade gap widened by 2% to $1.24 trillion, the highest on record.
Oil prices have risen to their highest level in six months as tensions between the United States and Iran escalate. The US dollar is up 0.2% on the day, whilst the Australian dollar is trading around US70.5 cents.
