The Australian share market looks like it may be in for a mixed start this morning following a choppy session on Wall St overnight. However a rise in oil and metals prices is likely to give resource stocks a boost and help support the market today.
The Australian market finished lower on Monday with the S&P/ASX 200 Index dropping 9 points to 4,532. Looking at the futures market the SPI200’s up 12 points.
Checking currencies at 8:40 AM the Aussie Dollar is buying 90.40 US cents, 81.64 Yen, 61.37 Euro cents and 54.98 Pence Sterling. In economic news: the ABS is to release retail trade data and building approvals data both for September, and the Australian Industry Group/Commonwealth Bank of Australia October performance of services index is also out today.
To what’s making company news this morning: Shares in minerals explorer Mirabela Nickel Ltd (ASX:MBN) closed steady at $2.75 yesterday. The company says it has produced the first nickel concentrate from its Santa Rita project in Brazil. The company says the commissioning of the crushing, grinding, and flotation circuits is progressing well. Mirabela anticipates that Santa Rita production will ramp up substantially over the next three months. Looking back at the past five years Mirabela Nickels only net profit was in 2008.
Shares in engineering and construction company United Group Ltd (ASX:UGL) closed steady at $13.38 yesterday. The company has changed its name to UGL Ltd, following shareholder approval at the company’s annual general meeting on October 22. CEO Richard Leupen says the renaming of the company to a single recognised umbrella brand is important for a business which incorporates so many well known but diversified trading entities. UGL says it will trade through its subsidiary names UGL Infrastructure, UGL Rail, UGL Resources, UGL Services, UGL Unicco, UGL Equis and UGL Premas - turning over more than $4.5 billion and trading with a permanent presence in 14 countries. UGL’s 2009 net profit of $142.2 million was its best in five years.
To ex-dividends: There is just one company going ex-dividend today and that is CSR with a 2.5 cent fully franked dividend. Coming up tomorrow is ANZ.
To international markets: Wall Street closed mixed on Tuesday - the Dow Jones fell 18 points. The S&P500 Index rose 3 points and the NASDAQ closed 8 points higher.
European markets were weaker. London’s FTSE down 67 points, Paris fell 55 points and Frankfurt lost 77 points.
Asian markets finished mixed: Hong Kong’s Hang Seng dropped 380. Tokyo’s Nikkei was closed and the Shanghai Composite rose 38.
Looking at metals: Gold has jumped $31.20 to a record US$1085.20 an ounce for the December contract on Comex after India’s central bank bought 200 metric tonnes of the metal from the International Monetary Fund. Silver added 75 cents to US$17.19 and copper gained 1 cent to US$2.96.
And the price of oil is $1.47 higher at US$79.60 a barrel for December light crude in New York.
