Wall Street was closed ahead of the Thanksgiving Day holiday giving little direction for local stocks however a jump in the price of base metals prices could see the local market open slightly higher this morning.
Markets
Wall Street was closed on Thursday: The Dow Jones Industrial Average last traded at 17,813, the S&P 500 last closed at 2,089 and the NASDAQ closed at 5,116.
European markets closed higher: London’s FTSE added 0.9 per cent, Paris advanced 1.1 per cent and Frankfurt rose 1.4 per cent.
Asian markets closed mixed: Tokyo’s Nikkei added 0.5 per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng slipped 0.04 per cent, and China’s Shanghai Composite was down 0.3 per cent.
The Australian share market closed higher yesterday: The S&P/ASX 200 Index closed 17 points up to finish at 5,211. On the futures market the SPI is 16 points up.
Currencies
The Australian Dollar at 8:20AM was buying 72.29 US cents, 47.89 Pence Sterling, 88.63 Yen and 68.18 Euro cents.
Company news
Vocation Limited
(ASX:VET) has gone into voluntary administration under Ferrier Hodgson. The company owes around $8 million to the Victorian Department of Education & Training. Up to 12,000 students could be affect if the education company is closed down. Shares in Vocation have been suspended since November 11 and last traded at 12 cents.
Mesoblast Limited (ASX:MSB, Nasdaq:MESO) says the Japanese Government has set the pricing for its TEMCELL treatment for acute graft versus host disease. Reimbursement has been authorized at up to $234,000 per patient for a treatment course. Shares in Mesoblast last traded 3.68 per cent higher at $1.55.
Ex-dividends One company will trade ex-dividend today: GrainCorp Limited
(ASX:GNC) will pay 2.5 cents per share fully franked.
Commodities
Gold is up $1.40 to $US1,071 an ounce for the December contract on Comex. Silver has gained 9 cents to $14.27 for December. Copper has added 4 cents to $2.09 a pound. Oil has shed $0.53 to US$42.51 a barrel for January light crude in New York.
