The Australian sharemarket looks set to open higher. US stocks extended gains for a fifth day, but were more subdued, despite commodities maintain their winning streak with Brent oil prices shooting above $40 a barrel overnight, marking a 2016 high.
Markets
Wall Street closed mixed yesterday: The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.4 per cent to close at 17,074, the S&P 500 added 0.1 per cent to close at 2,002 and the NASDAQ lost 0.2 per cent to close at 4,708.
European markets closed lower: London’s FTSE lost 0.3 per cent, Paris fell 0.3 per cent and Frankfurt fell 0.5 per cent.
Asian markets closed mixed: Tokyo’s Nikkei lost 0.6 per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng lost 0.1 per cent, and China’s Shanghai Composite gained 0.8 per cent.
The Australian share market closed higher yesterday: The S&P/ASX 200 Index closed 53 points up to finish at 5,143. On the futures market the SPI is 32 points up.
Currencies
The Australian Dollar at 8:30AM was buying $US0.747 cents, 52.37 Pence Sterling, 84.73 Yen and 67.83 Euro cents.
Economic news
In economic news: Due out today is the NAB monthly business survey and is the ANZ-Roy Morgan weekly consumer confidence survey.
Company news
Fonterra Co-operative Group Limited
(ASX:FSF) has reduced its forecast Farmgate milk price for the 2015/16 season from $4.15 per kgMS to $3.90 per kgMS. Fonterra is forecasting its New Zealand milk production to be at least 4 percent lower than last season as New Zealand farmers respond to the ongoing low prices by reducing herd size and feeding significantly less supplementary feed. Shares in Fonterra closed flat yesterday at $5.39.
Fortescue Metals Group Limited
(ASX:FMG) has entered into an MOU with Vale S.A. The agreement proposes the formation of one or more joint ventures for the blending of selected volumes of iron ore from both companies, targeting the creation of additional value for customers in the Chinese steel industry. Shares in Fortescue closed 23.69 per cent up yesterday at $3.08.
Ex-dividends | Name | Code | Date | Amount(cents) | Franking |
| Austal Limited | ASB | 8/03/16 | 2.0 | 100 |
| Dicker Data Limited | DDR | 8/03/16 | 4.0 | 100 |
| Glennon SML Co Ltd | GC1 | 8/03/16 | 0.8 | 100 |
| Integrated Research | IRI | 8/03/16 | 3.0 | 55 |
| Isentia Group Ltd | ISD | 8/03/16 | 3.7 | 50 |
| Monadelphous Group | MND | 8/03/16 | 28.0 | 100 |
| Monash IVF Group Ltd | MVF | 8/03/16 | 4.0 | 100 |
| News Corp.. | NWS | 8/03/16 | 9.9 | 0 |
| News Corp.. - A Non-Voting Cdi | NWSLV | 8/03/16 | 9.9 | 0 |
| Oil Search Ltd | OSH | 8/03/16 | 5.6 | 0 |
| Pro-Pac Packaging | PPG | 8/03/16 | 1.3 | 100 |
| Qube Holdings Ltd | QUB | 8/03/16 | 2.7 | 100 |
| Ramsay Health Care | RHC | 8/03/16 | 47.0 | 100 |
| Steadfast Group Ltd | SDF | 8/03/16 | 2.4 | 100 |
| Sunland Group Ltd | SDG | 8/03/16 | 3.0 | 100 |
| Saunders Intl Ltd | SND | 8/03/16 | 2.0 | 100 |
| Summerset Grp Hldgs | SNZ | 8/03/16 | 2.7 | 0 |
| Treasury Wine Estate | TWE | 8/03/16 | 8.0 | 0 |
| Villa World Ltd. | VLW | 8/03/16 | 8.0 | 100 |
Commodities Gold has lost $3.20 to $US1,268 an ounce for the April contract on Comex.
Silver has lost $0.03 to $15.66 for May.
Copper is flat at 2.28 a pound for May.
Oil has gained $2.05 to $US37.97 a barrel for April light crude in New York.
