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ASX to rise early; second round of $750 payments to flow from today

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA - JULY 01: Commuters make their way onto the light rail platform at Central Station on July 01, 2020 in Sydney, Australia. Public transport capacity has increased as COVID-19 restrictions eased further across NSW today. Restrictions on entertainment venues, weddings, community sport and other gatherings have eased in NSW from today but strict physical distancing measures remain in place. (Photo by Lisa Maree Williams/Getty Images)
Sydney, Australia, 01 July 2020. (Photo by Lisa Maree Williams/Getty Images)

Good morning.

This is Yahoo Finance’s Monday morning wrap:

ASX: The Australian share market is expected to rise at the open after a the positive performance of a coronavirus drug saw US markets finish off last week on a high note.

The Australian SPI 200 futures contract was higher by 95.0 points, or 1.62 per cent, to 5971.0 points at 0700 AEST on Monday.

Wall Street: US stocks have risen as a positive analysis on Gilead Sciences Inc's antiviral drug to treat COVID-19 helped to soothe investor worries over a record rise in coronavirus cases in the United States, and as financial shares surged. We wrote about this drug, remdesivir, here.

The second tranche of $750 coronavirus payments will hit bank accounts from today. Around five million social security, veteran and other income support recipients and eligible concession card holders will benefit from the $750 payment.

As one starts, another ends. One major measure brought in to ease the financial burden on regular Aussies, the free childcare scheme, has ended, and from today parents will have to pay for childcare again. But various voices are saying it’s too early for this scheme to end, and are asking the federal government what their plans are.

Australian women could be in for a bigger than usual tax refund this year. But will they make the most of work-from home deductions? More on that here.

As we move into a new financial year, stock investors might want to take a fresh look at their portfolio performance and conduct a spring clean. eToro analyst Josh Gilbert gave us his top five stock picks for the new financial year.

The cost of cyber attacks is real. In fact, a major cyber attack on Australia that caused month-long digital disruption would cost the economy tens of billions of dollars and see thousands of jobs gone, according to the new Digital Trust Report 2020 by the Australian Cyber Security Network.

Make class actions accessible: There’s a new campaign, called the Keep Corporations Honest campaign, that is attempting to help Aussies fight a push by big businesses to limit access to class actions.

"It would be nice if class actions were free to run, but the reality is fighting giants requires millions," said class action lawyer and campaign spokesman Ben Hardwick.

"So funding is necessary for most class actions to get off the ground and run. Litigation funders provide an efficient means of protecting litigants from risk, shielding the taxpayer from expense, and keeping corporations honest."

–with AAP

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