ASX bounces back, Bitcoin surges as Australia faces housing crisis

Good morning.

Here's everything you need to know about finance markets for today.

ASX: The Australian share market is expected to bounce back on Monday. According to the latest SPI futures, the ASX 200 is expected to open the day 37 points or 0.5 per cent higher this morning.

Wall Street: US stocks have fallen with Amazon.com shares declining after the company forecast lower sales growth but the S&P 500 still posted a sixth straight month of gains at the close on Friday.

EU stocks: European stocks kicked the week off on a cautious note digesting news from the weekend that the number of new COVID-19 cases in the UK has continued to fall. The FTSE 100 was 0.3 per cent down by the afternoon in London. Over in Europe, the CAC also fell 0.3 per cent and the DAX moved 0.5 per cent lower.

AUD: The Australian dollar is trading at 0.7334 to the US dollar as at 7am this morning.

Oil: Energy producers could be on the rise today after oil prices pushed higher. The WTI crude oil price is up 0.45 per cent to US$73.95 a barrel and the Brent crude oil price has risen 0.4 per cent to US$75.41 a barrel. Oil prices rose on hopes that demand is growing faster than supply.

Gold: Australian gold miners could come under pressure today after the gold price tumbled on Friday night. The spot gold price fell 1 per cent to US$1,812.50 an ounce. The gold price weakened after the firmer US dollar ended last week’s Federal Reserve-inspired rally.

Iron ore: Iron ore producers could start the week in the red after the spot iron ore price continued its decline. According to Metal Bulletin, the iron ore price has fallen a further 7.5 per cent to US$181.57 a tonne. This has been driven by Chinese steel output cuts.

Bitcoin: Bitcoin saw a resurgence in price over the weekend following twelve consecutive days of bullish momentum. Bitcoin has seen twelve days of green for the first time since February as it headed towards its previous all-time high. As at 7.20am this morning Bitcoin is 2.22 per cent down, making up for some of the weekend's gains.

Square & Afterpay: US fintech company Square said on Monday it had agreed to purchase Australian buy now/pay later giant Afterpay in an all-stock deal worth about $29 billion.

Business investment: Lockdowns and restrictions dotted around the country risk derailing the recovery in business investment, a new report warns. Deloitte Access Economics partner Stephen Smith says many of the elements that have seen private business investment grow since late 2020 remain in place to stand just 2.2 per cent below pre-COVID-19 levels.

Housing crisis: Federal Labor says Australia is in a housing crisis with a growing number of people finding themselves homeless, and a governing minister who rarely wants to talk about it. Labor's spokesman for housing and homelessness Jason Clare said when his party left government it was committed to $2 billion a year for social housing and indigenous homelessness.

New startup: A new startup is aiming to turn TikTok and YouTube stars into feature-length filmmakers, the latest in a broad push by platforms to invest in Internet-based content — and those who generate it. Creator+ offers a new economic model that features a vertically integrated studio that manages the entire filmmaking process for creators — from financing and production to marketing and distribution.

Commercial speedboat: A team of former SpaceX rocket engineers have joined the race to build the first commercial electric speedboat. The Arc Boat company announced it had raised $4.25m in seed funding to start work on a 24ft 475-horsepower craft that will cost about $300,000.

Didi sinks: China will step up oversight of its ride-hailing and on-demand trucking companies from Didi Global Inc. to Full Truck Alliance Co., adding to a widening campaign by Beijing to rein in its internet sector.

Have a great day.

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