Following an historic week of trading in the US which saw both the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 achieve new highs since the peak of the dot com boom, the Australian share market looks set to open higher in a new week of trade.
US economic news
The Commerce Department said orders for manufactured durable goods rose 4 per cent in March. A healthy rebound in demand motor vehicles and transportation lead the measure higher however signals for business investment were down.
Markets
Wall Street closed stronger on Friday: The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.1 per cent to close at 18,080, the S&P 500 added 0.2 per cent to close at 2,118 and the NASDAQ advanced 0.7 per cent to close at 5,092.
European markets closed up: London’s FTSE gained 0.2 per cent, Paris improved 0.4 per cent and Frankfurt rose 0.7 per cent.
Asian markets closed mixed: Tokyo’s Nikkei shed 0.8 per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 0.8 per cent, and China’s Shanghai Composite eased 0.5 per cent.
The Australian share market closed higher on Friday: The S&P/ASX 200 Index closed 89 points up to finish at 5,933, adding 55 points on the week. On the futures market the SPI is 24 points up.
Currencies
The Australian Dollar at 7:30AM was buying 78.23 US cents, 51.56 Pence Sterling, 93.04 Yen and 72.00 Euro cents.
Company news Metgasco Limited
(ASX:MEL) have welcomed the decision by the NSW Supreme Court to lift a drilling ban at its Rosella well. The judge ruled the previous decision caused substantial damage to Metgasco also awarding costs the petroleum exploration company. Metgasco say they will be seeking compensation for the unlawful decision. Shares in Metgasco lifted 46.42 per cent to $0.082 on Friday following the decision.
And Ten Network Holdings Limited
(ASX:TEN) is believed to be close to agreeing on a potential deal with Foxtel. The embattled broadcaster has been shopping itself around for the past year with Discovery Communications backing away from a deal in March. An investment by the subscription television service could be announced ahead of Ten’s half yearly results due on Thursday. Shares in Ten Network Holdings closed 2.38 per cent lower at $0.0205 on Friday.
Ex-dividends One company is trading ex-dividend today. Countplus Limited
(ASX:CUP) will pay 2 cents fully franked.
Commodities
Gold has slipped $19.30 to US$1,175 an ounce for the June contract on Comex. Silver shed 19 cents to $15.64 for May. Copper has added 4 cents to $2.75 a pound. Oil has dipped $0.59 to $US57.15 a barrel for May light crude in New York.
