Market snapshot at 7:45am (AEST):
- ASX SPI futures -0.2pc at 6,651, ASX 200 (Thursday’s close) -0.8pc at 6,685
- AUD: 67.6 US cents, 52.7 British pence, 61.04 euro cents, 73.5 Japanese yen, $NZ1.07
- US: Dow Jones +0.1pc at 27,026, S&P 500 +0.3pc at 2,998, Nasdaq +0.4pc at 8,157
- Europe: FTSE 100 +0.2pc at 7,182, DAX -0.1pc at 12,655, CAC -0.4pc at 5,673, Euro Stoxx 50 flat at 3,598
- Commodities: Brent crude +0.8pc at $US59.91/barrel, spot gold +0.2pc at $US1,491.65/ounce, iron ore -0.9pc at $US87.06/tonne
By 7:20am (AEST), ASX futures were down 13 points or 0.2 per cent.
Meanwhile, the Australian dollar has jumped 1 per cent to 68.25 US cents.
The local currency was boosted by Thursday’s better-than-expected job numbers, which have significantly reduced the odds of the Reserve Bank cutting interest rates at its meeting on Melbourne Cup day (November 5).
Australia’s unemployment rate slipped to 5.2 per cent, seasonally adjusted, while 14,700 new jobs were created in September.
On Wall Street, the main indices rose as upbeat quarterly earnings from Netflix and Morgan Stanley affirmed a strong start to the US reporting season.
The Dow Jones index closed 0.1 per cent to 27,026 points.
The S&P 500 and Nasdaq indices lifted by 0.3 and 0.4 per cent respectively.
Brexit deal progress
The British Government and European Union have agreed on the terms of a Brexit deal, which drove the sterling to a five-month high and hoisted European stocks to a year-and-a-half peak.
However, those gains were cut back in late-afternoon trade as market optimism faltered.
Investors realised that UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson will have a tough time securing domestic support for the deal as his Conservative Party does not control a parliamentary majority.
The Irish border riddle remains a sticking point for Northern Ireland’s Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), which said it could not support the Brexit agreement.
That reduces the chances of Mr Johnson winning parliamentary approval at an extraordinary session of parliament on Saturday.
London’s FTSE ended its session higher by 0.2 per cent.
Spot gold rose 0.2 per cent to $US1,492.29 an ounce.
Brent crude oil lifted 0.9 per cent to $US60 per barrel.
