The Australian share market is likely to open lower this morning following falls on Wall St overnight after weak data on the services sector of the US economy fuelled concerns for the recovery. Lower oil and metals prices may also weigh on resource stocks today.
Australian stocks ended higher on Thursday. The S&P/ASX 200 Index closed 12 points stronger at 4,775. Looking at the futures market the SPI200’s down 34 points.
Looking at currencies; the Aussie Dollar at 8.50AM is buying 92.35 US cents, 81.56 Yen, 61.38 Euro cents and 55.85 Pence Sterling.
In company news about this morning: Shares in top telco Telstra Corporation (ASX:TLS) closed steady at $3.49 yesterday. According to reports the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has frozen the prices it pays Telstra for access to its copper network. The watchdog says it will freeze prices until December 31 next year while it conducts a review of the prices that the telecommunications giant charges its rivals for access to its copper network. The move has outraged many competitors of the telco who access its copper network with many angry that instead of lowering the prices Telstra charges that ACCC has taken a ‘do nothing’ approach. Telstra’s 2009 net profit was just over $4 billion.
Shares in Caltex Australia Ltd (ASX:CTX) fell 2.22% to $9.26 yesterday. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has announced that it intends to oppose Caltex Australia proposed acquisition of Mobil Oil Australia’s retail assets. The ACCC says its decision was based on the likely effect the proposed acquisition will have on local market competition as well as the broader concerns about the effect of the acquisition on the stability and effectiveness of coordination between major fuel retailers in determining petrol prices. CEO Julian Segal says Caltex will consider its position on the basis of this decision, the public competition assessment and further discussion it proposes having with the ACCC and will then determine what action it will take in response. Caltex Australia’s 2008 net profit was significantly less than its high the year before of $646.3 million.
Checking ex-dividends, and there is just one company going today and that is E & A with a 1 cent fully franked dividend.
US markets closed lower on Thursday - The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 87 points. The S&P500 Index is down 9 while the NASDAQ lost 12 points. European markets were mixed. London’s FTSE fell 14 points, Paris gained 3 points and Frankfurt slipped 11.
Asian markets were also mixed: Hong Kong’s Hang Seng is up 264 points. Tokyo’s Nikkei gained 369 and the Shanghai Composite is down 5 points.
Looking at metals: Gold added $5.20 to US$1,218.20 an ounce for the February contract on Comex. For the March contract Silver lost 22 cents to US$19.11 and copper is a cent lower at US$3.25.
And the price of oil is $0.14 lower at US$76.46 a barrel for January light crude in New York.
