The Australian share market is likely to open steady this morning, riding high on the momentum from the end of last week spurred by hopes China will lead the global recovery, but weaker copper and oil prices could weigh on the miners and energy companies.
The local market finished stronger on Friday with S&P/ASX 200 Index finished 25 points higher to 4,596 and on the futures market the SPI200’s down 4 points.
Checking currencies at 8:35 AM the Aussie Dollar is mixed against the major currencies and is buying 86.18 US cents, 77.86 Yen, 59.12 Euro cents and 51.71 Pence Stirling.
On the economic front today the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) lending finance data for July is due for release.
In company about this morning:
Coffee International (ASX:COF) closed stronger on Friday, adding 2.35% to $2.17. The professional services consultancy company has announced that its subsidiary Coffee International Development has been awarded a $100 million project to manage the rehabilitation of roads in the Southern Philippines. The project is part of an Australian Government plan to increase economic activity in the region by improving infrastructure and services. Looking at the past five years of net profit results, 2008 was the highlight for Coffee.
Nexus Energy (ASX:NXS) closed weaker on Friday, losing 1.41% to 35 cents. Nexus has announced a fully underwritten pro rata non-renounceable rights issue to raise $43.5 million. Proceeds from the issue will be primarily used for the completion for the Longtom gas project. Nexus Energy will also use some of the money to repay a deposit to AED Oil after a delay in the sale of its 50% stake in the Longtom gas project to its joint venture partner. Looking at the past five years of net profits, Nexus Energy jumped out of the red in 2007.
Checking ex-dividends and there are a number of companies going today and among them are Brambles with a 12.5 cent 20% franked dividend and CSL a 40 cent unfranked dividend. Oil Search a 2.34 cent unfranked dividend and Tassel Group a 4 cent unfranked dividend. And finally, Whitehaven Coal a 6 cent fully franked and Wotif.com with a 11 cent fully franked dividend. To the international scoreboard: Wall Street closed weaker on Friday. The Dow Jones industrial average lost 22 points. The S&P500 Index slipped 1 point and the NASDAQ fell 3 points.
European markets were higher: London’s FTSE rose 24 points, Paris added 29 points and Frankfurt also up 29 points.
Asian markets were mixed: Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 92 points. Tokyo’s Nikkei fell 69 points and China’s SSE Composite lifted 65 points.
Looking at Metals: Gold advanced $9.60 to US$1006.40 an ounce for the December contract on Comex. Silver added 3 cents to US$16.70 and copper fell 3 cents to US$2.85.
And finally, oil fell $2.65 to US$69.29 a barrel for October light crude in New York.
