The Australian share market, or S&P/ASX 200 (INDEXASX: XJO)(ASX: XJO) index, is expected to open positive on Thursday morning, according to the Sydney Futures Exchange.
Here’s what you need to know:
Australian Dollar: 79.78 US cents
Dow Jones: up 1.25%
Oil (WTI): $US63.88 per barrel
Gold: $US1,306 per ounce
Bitcoin (BTC): $US11,276
Overnight, London-listed shares of BHP Billiton Limited (ASX: BHP) and Rio Tinto Limited (ASX: RIO) closed down 0.8% and 0.1%, respectively.
Australian Investing News
This morning, BHP Billiton released its half-year operational report revealing a 7% decline in petroleum production, a 17% increase in copper production and flat iron ore production versus the same period a year earlier. The mining giant said all major projects under development are tracking to plan.
Unfortunately, its half-year ‘underlying’ operating profit is expected to include impairment charges of between $US250 million and $US350 million.
“A strong operating performance in the first half allowed us to capture the benefit of higher prices,” BHP CEO Andrew MacKenzie said. “The successful Los Colorados Extension project ramp-up contributed to a 17 per cent increase in copper output and production records were achieved at a number of Western Australia Iron Ore and Queensland Coal mines.”
Coal miner Whitehaven Coal (ASX: WHC) also released its quarterly report today revealing a relatively steady period, versus prior quarters.
Outside of the Australian share market, selloffs in cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin (BTC), Ripple (XRP) and Ethereum (ETH) have left speculators speechless. Hundreds of billions of dollars were lost in the cryptocurrency market on Wednesday following concerns that the South Korean and Chinese Governments will ban trading.
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