Finance news you need to know today

NORTH Korea has held a live-fire exercise to mark the foundation of its military while a US submarine docked in South Korea in a show of force.

HERE are nine things making news in business and finance around the world today.

1. SYDNEY — The Australian share market is expected to open higher after the Nasdaq Composite hit a record high, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 brushed against recent peaks as strong earnings underscored the health of corporate America. At 0720 AEST on Wednesday, the share price futures index was up 25 points, or 0.43 per cent, at 5,899.

2. SYDNEY — The Australian dollar is lower against the US dollar following the surprise decision by US President Donald Trump to slap tariffs on Canadian lumber entering the US. The Aussie was trading at 75.34 US cents at 0720 AEST on Wednesday, from 75.35 on Tuesday.

3. OTTAWA — The US and Canada faced off on Tuesday in a renewed battle over softwood lumber that threatened to spill over into multiple other sectors, though US President Donald Trump said he did not fear a trade war with Canada.

4. LONDON — British Prime Minister Theresa May’s Conservatives have a large lead over the opposition Labour Party, according to an opinion poll published by the Kantar research group.

5. PARIS — French far-right veteran Jean-Marie Le Pen says his daughter Marine, who faces centrist Emmanuel Macron in a May 7 presidential run-off, should have campaigned more aggressively for Sunday’s first round, following the example of Donald Trump.

6. MEXICO CITY — Mexico’s government says it will fight any measures in a US tax overhaul that broke international trade rules, and is threatening to review cross-border co-operation on migration and security if upcoming negotiations founder.

7. BERLIN — Ivanka Trump has been booed in Berlin after she described her father Donald as a “tremendous champion of supporting families” and says she’s still finetuning her role as first daughter and informal White House adviser.

8. SEOUL — North Korea holds a live-fire exercise to mark the foundation of its military as a US submarine docks in South Korea in a show of force amid growing concern over the North’s nuclear and missile programs.

9. ABIDJAN — A group called the Imam Shamil Battalion has claimed responsibility for a metro bombing in the Russian city of St. Petersburg that killed 16 people and says the bomber was acting on orders from al-Qaeda, according to the SITE monitoring group.