Following a weekly loss of 3 per cent the Australian share market it set to rebound and spike into the new week. Wall Street climbed more than 1 per cent on Friday ahead of the Martin Luther King Jr federal public holiday on Monday.
US traders were buoyed by a better than expected read on consumer sentiment and a stronger energy sector. In the week ahead attention will turn to China’s fourth quarter growth figures tomorrow and the European Central Bank’s first policy meeting of the year on Thursday.
Global markets
Wall Street ended the week on a high: The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 1.1 per cent to close at 17,512, the S&P 500 jumped 1.3 per cent to close at 2,019 and the Nasdaq jumped 1.4 per cent to close at 4,634.
European markets finished stronger on Friday: London's FTSE 100 gained 0.8 per cent, France's CAC 40 gained 1.3 per cent and Germany's DAX gained 1.4 per cent.
Asian markets closed mixed at the end of last week: Japan’s Nikkei dropped 1.4 per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell just over 1 per cent, and China’s Shanghai Composite rose 1.2 per cent.
The Australian share market sank over last week to post its biggest weekly fall in 18 months: The S&P/ASX 200 index dropped 32 points on Friday, extending the weekly plunge of 166 points to close at 5,299. On the futures market the SPI is 76 points stronger.
Currencies
The Australian dollar at 8am was buying $US0.8218, 54.31 Pence Sterling, 96.58 Yen and 71.18 Euro cents.
Economic news due out today
Australian Bureau of Statistics: New car sales data for December
TD Securities and the Melbourne Institute: Monthly inflation gauge for December
CommSec: State of the States’ economic performance survey
Company news
A division of Macquarie Group Limited
(ASX:MQG) has inked a deal to evaluate and finance mining projects in Spain. Corporate advisory, principal investment and capital markets arm Macquarie Capital has signed a collaboration agreement with the mining division of Sacyr SA. Both groups plan to pursue advanced stage and producing mining projects throughout Spain and collaborate to fund acquisitions and development. Shares in Macquarie Group fell 1 per cent on Friday to end the week at $55.29.
Qantas Airways Limited
(ASX:QAN) first upgraded international A330 took flight over the weekend on route from Melbourne to Singapore. Australia’s largest airline says the new standard of luxury puts it in a strong position to retain and win customers on key routes to Asia. The move comes after Qantas introduced the first domestic A330 last month which is now operating on east-west services and key domestic routes. Shares in Qantas Airways dropped 2.12 per cent on Friday to end the week at $2.31.
Commodities
The price of gold has lifted $12.10 to $US1,277 an ounce for the February contract on Comex.
Silver has risen $0.65 to $17.75 for March.
Copper has gained $0.06 to $2.61 a pound.
Oil has increased $2.18 to $US48.91 a barrel for February light crude in New York.
