The Australian share market, or S&P/ASX 200 (INDEXASX: XJO)(ASX: XJO) index, is expected to open higher on Wednesday morning, according to the Sydney Futures Exchange.
Here’s what you need to know:
Australian Dollar: 78.24 US cents
Dow Jones: Up 0.4%
Oil (WTI): $US61.90 per barrel
Gold: $US1,233 per ounce
Bitcoin: $US14,728
London-listed shares of BHP Billiton Ltd (ASX: BHP) and Rio Tinto Limited (ASX: RIO) closed up 1.3% and 1.2%, respectively.
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Here in Australia, shares in focus will include Pushpay Holdings Ltd (ASX: PPH) (NZE: PPH). Pushpay, a $1.2 billion software company specialising in church donations, this morning confirmed a recent announcement regarding its performance to December 31. It had originally forecast annualised committed monthly revenue, which it calls ACMR, at $US 100 million for the 2017 calendar. However, the final figure came in at $US106.4 million.
“Pushpay continues to build on its market leading position in a growing sector and has seen pleasing results in terms of the proportion of ACMR derived from large Customers,” CEO Chris Heaslip said. “We continue to focus on scaling the business in the US faith sector in order to maximise shareholder value over the long term.” Read more here.
Also in the news, QBE Insurance Group Ltd (ASX: QBE) announced the appointment of Vivek Bhatia as CEO of its Australian and Kiwi operations. He joins from icare.
“I am very excited that Vivek is joining QBE and the executive team,” QBE CEO Pat Regan said. “He brings a wealth of experience across the insurance and management consulting sectors with a track record in large scale business and cultural transformation.”
Finally, Aristocrat Leisure Limited (ASX: ALL), the $14 billion gaming company, announced that the conditions of its acquisition of Big Fish Games Inc. have been satisfied and the acquisition has completed. The $1.3 billion takeover of Big Fish doubles Aristocrat’s digital arm and makes it the second-largest social casino gaming business by revenue worldwide.
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