Following positive leads, the Australian share market looks set to open higher. US markets posted a solid performance on Thursday, adding to a week of gains. Financials pushed the markets higher while defensive stocks lagged. News that the Bank of England would be leaving rates unchanged for now surprised investors, with market consensus estimating a 25 bps rate cut.
US economic news
Initial jobless claims for the week ending July 9th held steady at 254,000, coming in lower than market estimates. Producer prices for June posted their biggest gain since May 2015, up 0.5 percent in the month.
Markets
Wall Street closed up yesterday: The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.73 per cent to close at 18,506 the S&P 500 added 0.53 per cent to close at 2,164 and the NASDAQ gained 0.57 per cent to close at 5,034.
European markets closed mixed: London’s FTSE dropped 0.24 per cent, Paris gained 1.16 per cent and Frankfurt rose 1.39 per cent.
Asian markets closed mixed: Tokyo’s Nikkei added 0.95 per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng added 1.12 per cent, and China’s Shanghai Composite fell 0.22 per cent.
The Australian share market closed higher yesterday: The S&P/ASX 200 Index closed 23 points up to finish at 5,412. On the futures market the SPI is 6 points up.
Currencies
The Australian Dollar at 7:20AM was buying $US76.35 cents, 57.24 Pence Sterling, 80.45 Yen and 68.69 Euro cents.
Company news
BlueScope Steel Limited
(ASX:BSL) has announced it expects its full year underlying earnings before tax to lift to $570 million. The improved performance has been attributed to high margins in its international business and a turnaround in Asian region steel prices. Full results for FY16 will be released on the 22 August 2016.
Shares in BlueScope Steel Limited closed 7.24 per cent up yesterday at $7.85
Toro Energy Limited
(ASX:TOE) has advised that the Office of the Environmental Protection Authority has accepted its response to submissions regarding a potential extension to Toro’s Wiluna Uranium Project. Toro had responded to a number of comments from government agencies and the public during a twelve week public review.
Shares in Toro Energy Limited closed 3.92 per cent up yesterday at 5.3 cents
Commodities
Gold has lost $11.40 to $US1,332 an ounce for the August contract on Comex.
Silver has fallen $0.09 to $20.32 for September.
Copper has dropped point 3 of a cent to $2.24 a pound for September.
Oil has gained $0.98 to $US46.42 a barrel for August light crude in New York.
