The Australian stock market is expected to open slightly higher this morning after flat to mixed leads from offshore markets, with Wall Street little changed and metals and energy prices mixed.
Overnight, US stocks finished flat after recovering from early losses in reaction to US Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke’s comments that the Fed was likely to begin tightening credit by raising the interest rate it pays to banks on the money they have deposited at the Fed.
To the scoreboard, the Dow Jones Industrial Average is down 20 points to 10,038 points. The S&P500 Index fell 2 points to 1,068 and the NASDAQ is down 3 to 2,148.
To other international markets, European stocks rose. London’s FTSE gained 20 points, Paris rose 23, and Frankfurt is up 38 points.
Asian stocks were higher with Hong Kong’s Hang Seng up 132 points, Tokyo’s Nikkei rose 31 and China’s Shanghai Composite gained 34 points.
The Australian share market finished marginally higher on Wednesday with the S&P/ASX 200 Index added 8 points higher at 4,513 and on the futures market the SPI200’s up 14 points.
On to currencies: the Aussie Dollar at 8:35AM was buying 87.54 US cents, 78.78 Yen, 63.77 Euro cents and 56.16 Pence Sterling.
In economic news out today: the Australian Bureau of Statistics is expected to release its labour force report for January. And the Melbourne Institute survey of consumer inflationary expectations for February also is due.
Reporting earnings today: Telstra and Platinum Capital release first half results. James Hardie Industries releases third-quarter results, while Rio Tinto announces annual results.
In company news about this morning:
Rio Tinto (ASX:RIO) shares rose yesterday, up 1.42% to $67.94. Chinese prosecutors have formally charged Stern Hu and three Rio Tinto colleagues with accepting 'massive bribes' and obtaining secrets. Last night Chinese media quoting the Shanghai prosecutor adopts the toughest official language since the early weeks after the four were detained on July 5 2009. Neither Rio Tinto, nor the Australian government appear to have been told of the decision before being informed of it through Australian and Chinese news media. Rio Tinto’s 2008 net profit result was about $5.3 billion.
Shares in the Seven Network gained yesterday up 2.5% to $6.97. The Seven Network has announced $14 million plans to roll out its 4G wireless broadband network into the five mainland capital cities. 4G refers to the fourth generation of cellular wireless standards and aims to deliver internet that is considerably faster than the current 3G network. Seven Network director Ryan Stokes said early testing of the network was very encouraging. The network is being set up by Seven’s 100% owned subsidiary - Vividwireless and will be launched in Perth next month. Mr Stokes used a communications conference in Sydney yesterday to hit back at critics of the plan by insisting that it will be the most exciting development in the broadband sector in 2010. The Seven Network’s 2009 net profit came in at nearly $12.5 million.
Taking a look at ex-dividends: Argo Investments, Hills Industries, JB Hi-Fi and Milton Corporation are all going today and tomorrow WAM Capital is going ex-dividend.
To commodities: Gold slipped $1.10 to around US$1,076 an ounce for the April contract on Comex. For the March contract, silver fell 11 cents to US$15.33 and copper rose 1 cent at US$2.99.
The price of oil is up 72 cents to US$74.47 a barrel for March light crude in New York.
