Australian share market opens higher as US jobs report reduces rate rise expectations

The Australian share market has maintained its momentum from the previous week, trading higher on opening. A weaker-than-expected US jobs report, coupled with downward revisions of early jobs growth, has reduced expectations of a rate rise from the US Federal Reserve this month and boosted Wall Street stocks after a turbulent week.

Market snapshot

ASX 200: +0.2% at 8,696 points (live values below)

ASX 200 (previous week): +0.8% to 8,682 points

Australian dollar: -0.2% to 69.42 US cents

Asia: Nikkei +2.5%, Hang Seng -0.1%, Shanghai +0.3%, Kospi +0.4%

Wall Street (previous week): S&P 500 +0.7%, Dow +0.5% Nasdaq +1.2%

Europe (previous week): Dax +1.2%, FTSE +0.3%, Eurostoxx 600 +1.0%

Spot gold: +0.2% to $US4,150/ounce

Oil: Brent futures -0.7% to $US101.54/barrel, WTI futures -1.1% to $US90.08/barrel

Iron ore (previous week): +1.2% to $US91.40/tonne

Copper (LME): -0.8% to $US14,285tonne

Bitcoin: +0.9% to $US86,622

10-year bonds: US 5.26% Australia 5.31%

Electric vehicle taxation

The latest edition of a popular business podcast has just dropped, and the topic of discussion is the tricky question about what, if any, is the appropriate level of taxation for electric vehicles.

You can check out the discussion with host Carrington Clarke and Amy Tramontozzi, an economist at e61 Institute.

Metrics trusts valuations

The Metrics trusts which returned to trading today seem to be a mixed bag this morning, all having a pretty large trading range. The Master Income Trust returned to flattish, the other two dropping a few per cent.

Given the cuts to net tangible assets, was most of the damage done before the auditors refused to accept the numbers and the securities were suspended?

Metrics Master Income Trust: NTA $1.96 per unit, share price $1.75/unit (-0.3% today)

Metrics Income Opportunities Trust: NTA $1.93 per unit, share price $1.59/unit (-6.2% today)

Metrics Real Estate Multi-Strategy Fund: NTA $2.22 per unit, share price $1.64/unit (-2.7% today)

Australian services sector activity slows

The Australian services sector has continued to expand, but at a slower pace, according to the latest S&P Global Purchasing Managers' Index survey.

The Australian services PMI remained in expansionary territory for the fourth consecutive month in September, but new orders slowed and costs rose.

"Softer growth of new orders, meanwhile, led to a resumption of job shedding as companies looked to limit costs. Business confidence also declined," S&P Global noted.

Prices in both inputs and outputs rose, a theme in line with recent inflation surveys.

"Elevated price pressures in the service sector do not bode well for demand recovery as growth in services new business softened for the second month in a row," said S&P Global economist Jingyi Pan.

Auction clearance rate below 50 per cent as property market slows

Australia's preliminary auction clearance rate slumped to a three-month low of 48.2% last week, according to new figures.

Less than half the auctions that were held across the nation resulted in a successful sale.

Federal Court finds ANZ global markets team was 'reckless and dangerous'

The wrongful dismissal case between ANZ's former head of global balance sheet management Etienne Alexiou and the bank has been ongoing since late last year.

The Federal Court made a damning finding for ANZ, but it wasn't much better in reputational terms for Mr Alexiou.

"[Mr] Alexiou … failed on the most material claims made against ANZ following a lengthy trial in the Federal Court late last year, but [he] has more than succeeded in humiliating ANZ and exposing the toxic, masculine and sexist culture that pervades financial markets, and not just ANZ," said veteran banking writer and editor Ian Rogers.

"While Justice Perran concluded that the credit of the plaintiff, Etienne Alexiou, was worse than dubious on many points, including numerous findings that Alexiou was a liar, it is to Alexiou's credit that he had the guts to agitate these matters in the public domain," Mr Rogers said.

"I find that senior management openly engaged in excessive consumption of alcohol, at times reckless and dangerous conduct [and] sexist behaviour which did not by any means stop short of sexual harassment. The attitude to women that is revealed is particularly problematic," Justice Perran found.