For the first day of the 2009/2010 financial year the local share market looks like it may open lower this morning after U.S. stocks took a tumble overnight on a weaker than expected consumer confidence report and drop in oil prices.
The local share market closed higher on Tuesday. The S&P/ASX 200 Index up 68 points to 3,955 and on the futures market the SPI200’s down 24 points.
Checking currencies at 8:40am the Aussie dollar is currently buying 80.59 US cents. On the cross rates the dollar is trading at 77.62 Yen, 57.43 Euro cents and 48.97 British pence.
In economic news out today: Australian Industry Group/PricewaterhouseCoopers Australian Performance of Manufacturing Index for June is to be released, as well as the ABS retail trade data for May, ABS building approvals data for May, ABS engineering construction activity data for March, and the RBA index of commodity prices for May.
In company news: Shares in global miner BHP Billiton Ltd (ASX:BHP) closed 2.42 per cent higher at $34.72 yesterday. BHP’s Perseverance nickel mine in Western Australia may be forced to close by the State government after another rock fall at the mine. According to a report in The Sydney Morning Herald, West Australian Mines and Petroleum Minister Norman Moore, is seeking urgent advice from state mining engineer Martin Knee on whether to stop the mine from continuing operations after the latest rock fall raised serious concerns about the mines safety. The paper reports that BHP has been issued with a notice preventing mining at Perseverance until the site has been declared safe. BHP’s 2008 net profit was US$15.4 billion.
Shares in uranium miner Paladin Energy Ltd (ASX:PDN) rose 3.79 per cent to $4.93 yesterday. The company has given approval to proceed with the Stage III expansion of its flagship Langer Heinrich Uranium Mine in Namibia. The company lowered its nominal production from an original target of 6 million pounds of uranium a year to 5.2 million a year. Paladin says minimised capital cost is now estimated at US$71 million with no significant infrastructure required. At the revised anticipated Stage III production rates the company says there are currently sufficient ore reserves and stockpiles available to sustain the operation for a minimum 12 -13 years. Paladin Energy posted a US$36 million loss in 2008.
Turning to the ex-dividend scoreboard and going ex-dividend today we have Tutt Bryant which is paying a 1.5 cent fully franked dividend. And coming up on Friday we have Programmed Maintenance Services which is paying a 5 cent fully franked dividend.
To international markets: US Markets closed lower on Tuesday - The Dow Jones industrial average fell 82 points. The S&P500 Index dropped 8 points and the NASDAQ lost 9.
European markets also closed lower: London’s FTSE down 45, Paris declined 53 and Frankfurt dropped 76 points.
Asian markets were mixed: Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 150. Tokyo’s Nikkei gained 175 and China’s SSE Composite lost 16 points.
Looking at Metals: Gold is $13.30 lower at US$927.40 an ounce for the August contract on Comex. For the September contract Silver is down 38 cents to US$13.60 and copper fell 5 cents to US$2.27.
And finally oil declined $1.60 to US$69.89 a barrel for August light crude in New York.
