Corporate regulators have suspended the financial services license of the Australian arm of collapsed cryptocurrency exchange FTX, and US stocks have risen on signs corporate inflation is slowing.
Core items:
- The S&P 500 Index was up 0.9 percent to 3,991, the Nasdaq was up 1.7 percent to 11,390, the Dow Jones Index was up 0.2 percent to 33,592 at 7:20 a.m. AEDT
- The FTSE 100 fell 0.2 percent to 7,369, the DAX in Germany rose 0.5 percent to 14,379 and the CAC 40 in Paris also rose 0.5 percent to 6,642
- The Australian dollar rose 1.1 percent to 67.71 US cents, while the ASX SPI 200 index rose 0.1 percent to 7,162.
FTX Australia and FX Express brought in KordaMentha as administrators on Friday after parent company FTX filed for bankruptcy protection in the US, causing chaos in the crypto markets.
The companies operate a digital currency exchange that is not regulated by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission.
ASIC has suspended FTX Australia’s license until May next year, although it can offer limited financial services related to terminating existing derivatives contracts with clients until mid-December.
“ASIC is closely monitoring this situation and is in regular contact with international regulators and external administrators,” the regulator said in a statement.
FTX was once worth $32 billion ($40 billion) but imploded after traders withdrew billions of dollars from the cryptocurrency exchange and rival Binance dropped a bailout.
Medibank AGM
Embattled health insurer Medibank said the data hack of nearly 10 million customers would cost the company $25 million to $35 million in the first half of the fiscal year.
The board is set to be grilled by investors at the company’s annual general meeting in Melbourne today after Russian hackers stole the personal information of 9.7 million current and former customers.
The hackers began posting the information on the dark web after Medibank refused to pay a ransom.
Wall Street is rising
US stocks rose on more signs of easing inflation in North America but fell on reports that a Russian missile attack on Ukraine killed two people in Poland.
The euro extended its losses against the US dollar on the news.
Earlier, the US market received a boost after economic data showed that inflation in North America continued to ease, raising hopes that the US Federal Reserve would slow the pace of interest rate hikes.
The producer price index for final demand rose 0.2 percent in October and 8 percent for the year, less than expected.
Producer prices are a measure of business inflation and reflect the prices paid to producers.
Consumer inflation has also eased in the US, standing at an annual rate of 7.7 percent on the back of steep interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve.
This news sparked a big rally last week.
An earnings report from retail giant Walmart also boosted sentiment overnight.
The retailer raised its annual sales and profit forecasts thanks to demand for groceries despite higher prices.
It announced a $20 billion ($29.5 billion) stock buyback plan that saw its shares soar 7.5 percent.
Major indices pulled off their highs in a volatile session.
The Dow Jones Index rose 0.2 percent to 33,593, the S&P 500 rose 0.9 percent to 3,992 and the Nasdaq Composite rose 1.5 percent to 11,358.
Wall Street is higher for the third day in the last four trading sessions.
The Australian dollar rose 1.1 percent overnight and as of 7:15 am AEDT was buying about 67.71 US cents.
The Australian market is expected to open slightly higher, with the ASX SPI 200 index up 0.1 percent to 7,162.
European markets
The weaker than expected inflation numbers in the US also boosted confidence in Europe.
Other figures showed that the euro-zone economy grew 0.2 percent qoq in July-September.
The gross domestic product was 2.1 percent over the course of the year.
However, the European Commission expected the economy to contract this quarter and next year due to the energy crisis and rising interest rates.
The FTSE 100 fell 0.2 percent to 7,369, the DAX in Germany rose 0.5 percent to 14,379 and the CAC 40 in Paris also rose 0.5 percent to 6,642.
Brent crude rose more than 1 percent to above $94 a barrel after it was announced that oil supplies to Hungary via the Druzhba oil pipeline had been temporarily halted due to a pressure drop.
Spot gold rose 0.4 percent to $1,779 an ounce.
ABC/Reuters
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