Local stocks are set for a flat open as the recent rally runs out of steam and the Aussie dollar surges past 74 cents.
Overseas, US stocks struggled to hold onto early gains on Thursday as oil futures again weighed and bits and pieces of economic data showed US growth is potentially slowing.
US economic news
The Institute of Supply Management says non-manufacturing came in at 53.4, above expectations but below the January read of 53.5.
Factory orders rose 1.6 per cent in January after declines for the two previous months.
And applications for unemployment benefits rose in the last week of February, ahead of Friday’s official jobs report.
Markets
Wall Street closed upyesterday: The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.3 per cent to close at 16,944, the S&P 500 rose by 0.4 per cent to close at 1,993 and the NASDAQ advanced 0.1 per cent to close at 4,707.
European markets closed lower: London’s FTSE shed 0.3 per cent, Paris lost 0.2 per cent and Frankfurt weakened 0.3 per cent.
Asian markets closed mixed: Tokyo’s Nikkei added 1.3 per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng slipped 0.3 per cent, and China’s Shanghai Composite added 0.4 per cent.
The Australian share market closed higher yesterday: The S&P/ASX 200 Index closed 60 points up to finish at 5,081. On the futures market the SPI is 5 points higher.
Currencies
The Australian Dollar at 8.30AM was buying 73.54 US cents, 51.89 Pence Sterling, 83.58 Yen and 67.1 Euro cents.
Economic news
Due out today from the Australian Bureau of Statistics is retail sales data for January.
Company news
Origin Energy Limited
(ASX:ORG) chief Grant King has not ruled out a potential merger or demerger to help create better shareholder value. The Australia Pacific LNG project in Queensland is draining cash with prices much lower than when the project was commissioned. Royalty payments due to the Queensland government project are also under dispute in court at the moment. Shares in Origin Energy last traded 5.31 per cent higher at $4.96.
Pioneer Credit Limited
(ASX:PNC) says it has acquired Switchmyloan, a leading online mortgage broker. Switch was founded in 2013 and has managed to make agreements with 19 financiers including the big four banks as an introducer offering significant savings. The transaction will be funded from cash reserves and add to earnings from the 2017 financial year. Shares in Pioneer Credit last traded flat at $1.79.
Commodities
Gold has advanced $21.60 to US$1,263 an ounce for the April contract on Comex. Silver has added 23 cents to $15.26 for May. Copper has is up 3 cents to $2.21 a pound for May. Oil has added 3 cents to US$34.69 a barrel for April light crude in New York.
