Australian shares to drop, as Wall Street collapses in final hour amid surging COVID-19 cases – ABC News

The Australian share market is headed for a big fall this morning, which could erase most of yesterday’s gains.

• ASX SPI futures -0.8pc at 5,892 points, ASX 200 (Monday’s close) +1pc at 5,978
• AUD: 69.4 US cents, 55.25 British pence, 61.15 Euro cents, 74.43 Japanese yen, 4.887 Chinese yuan, $NZ1.061
• US: Dow Jones flat at 26,086, S&P 500 -0.9pc at 3,155, Nasdaq -2.1pc at 10,391
• Europe: UK (FTSE): +1.3pc at 6,176, Germany (DAX) +1.3pc at 12,800, Euro Stoxx 50 +1.6pc at 3,350
• Oil: WTI crude (August) -2.3pc at $US39.60, Brent crude (August) -2.5pc at $US42.18/barrel
• Spot gold +0.3pc at $US1,803.50/ounce
• Iron ore +4.5pc at $US111.09/tonne

ASX futures were down 54 points, or 0.9 per cent.
Wall Street’s main indices had surged for most of the session. But investor sentiment turned negative and led to a sharp reversal in the final trading hour.
It comes as the coronavirus infections across the world surged past 13 million, and California announced it would reverse its reopening plans on Tuesday.
California Governor Gavin Newsom ordered all restaurants, bars, cinemas, and other businesses close their indoor operations, which would effectively shut many of them down.
The S&P 500 and Nasdaq dropped by 0.9 and 2.1 per cent respectively on Tuesday (US time), weighed down by big tech stocks like Amazon and Microsoft.
At its best, the Dow Jones index had surged by more than 500 points. But in the end, the industrial-skewed index closed flat at 26,086 points.
Electric car maker Tesla had an incredibly volatile day. It jumped 16 per cent to hit a new record high, and briefly become the 10th-biggest US stock by market value.
But Tesla gave up all those gains, and closed 3 per cent lower.
Meanwhile, shares in pharmaceutical firms BioNTech and Pfizer surged after their experimental COVID-19 vaccines received “fast track” designation from the US Food and Drug Administration.
The Australian dollar was slightly weaker at 69.4 US cents.
Brent crude oil fell sharply (-2.4pc) to $US42.22 per barrel.
Spot gold has risen (+0.2pc) to $US1,802.82 an ounce.

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