The Australian share market is expected to open lower this morning, following weak leads from overseas.
There was subdued trading around the world in the lead-up to Christmas. Yesterday in the US market, the Dow Jones was so close to hitting the 20,000 points mark – it was just 25 points off. However, this morning when Wall Street closed, the Dow headed in the opposite direction, falling 33 points, instead of finishing with an 18th record high. With every sector on Wall Street finishing in the red, the worst performers were healthcare, technology and financials.
However, there was some upbeat US economic data released overnight. The National Association of Realtors revealed that American home resales rose unexpectedly by 0.7% last month, hitting 5.61 million units, which is their highest level in almost a decade. It could be that buyers are rushing into the property market to secure low interest rates, in advance of the three rate hikes that the Federal Reserve is planning for next year.
In addition, the Mortgage Bankers Association released data which stated total US mortgage applications were up 2.5% last week, compared to the previous week.
MarketsWall Street finished lower this morning: The Dow Jones fell almost 0.2% to close at 19,942, the S&P 500 slipped 0.25% to finish at 2,265, while the NASDAQ was down almost 0.25% to close at 5,471.
European markets were mixed: London’s FTSE was flat, Paris lost 0.3%, while Frankfurt was flat.
Asian markets finished mixed: the Nikkei was down 0.3%, the Hang Seng rose 0.4%, and the Shanghai Composite was today’s best performing share market - gaining 1.1%.
The Australian share market finished stronger yesterday, with the ASX 200 closing 22 points up at 5,613. This morning, on the futures market the SPI is down 8 points.
CurrenciesThe Australian Dollar at 8.30am is buying $US0.7243, 58.63 Pence, 85.11 Yen and 69.49 Euro cents.
Company newsOrigin Energy Ltd
(ASX:ORG) has signed a Sale and Purchase Agreement with the ENN LNG Trading Company Limited. This contract is for the delivery of 280,000 tonnes of liquefied natural gas to China over a period of 5 years. Both parties can mutually agree to extend the contract by another 5 years. Origin Energy expects to start delivering the LNG in the 2018 or 2019 calendar years. Shares in Origin Energy closed 0.62% lower yesterday at $6.37.
CPB Contractors, which is a CIMIC Group
(ASX:CIM) company, has closed its deal with Transurban Queensland to design and construct the $512 million Logan Enhancement project in Queensland. The contract is expected to generate $420 million revenue for CBP. CIMIC says the upgrading and widening of the Queensland motorways should begin mid-next year and take two years to complete. Shares in CIMIC closed 0.39% lower yesterday at $33.58.
CommoditiesGold is down $0.10 to $US1,133 an ounce.
Silver has gained $0.02 to $16.
Copper was flat at $2.50.
Oil is up $0.04 to US$52.53 per barrel.
