The Australian share market is likely to open higher this morning following a positive lead from Wall Street overnight thanks to gains in healthcare stocks and the price of oil.
US stocks rose as the passage of a bill overhauling the healthcare system ended much of the uncertainty about the issue for investors.
After months of debate, the House of Representatives approved a healthcare reform bill that will extend coverage to 32 million more Americans. President Obama is expected to sign the bill into law and it is forecast to cost $940 billion over 10 years.
Some concerns about Greece lingered after news Germany might not go along with European Union efforts to help the country cut its debt, but they were offset by the focus on healthcare.
To the figures now and the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 44 points to 10,786. The S&P500 Index closed 6 points higher at 1,166 and the NASDAQ gained 21 points at 2,395.
European stock markets closed mixed. London’s FTSE lost 6 points, Paris rose 3 points and Frankfurt gained 5 points.
Asian stocks are also mixed, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng is down 438 points, Tokyo’s Nikkei gained 81 points and China’s Shanghai Composite rose 7 points.
The Australian share market closed lower yesterday. The S&P/ASX 200 Index finished 42 points weaker at 4,830 and on the futures market the SPI200 was up 26 points. On to currencies: the Aussie Dollar at 8:45AM was buying 91.82 US cents, 60.80 Pence Sterling, 82.77 Yen and 67.73 Euro cents.
To company news around this morning:
Shares in Rio Tinto Ltd (ASX:RIO) closed lower yesterday, losing 1.52% to $75.03. Australian executive Stern Hu has pleaded guilty to receiving bribes of up to $960,000 during the opening day of the trial of four Rio Tinto executives in China. Hu and two of his colleagues conceded their roles in accepting bribes in a Shanghai court yesterday and are facing jail terms of five to 15 years. The fourth executive, Wang Yong, pleaded his innocence, saying the money was only a loan. The trial continues today. Rio Tinto reported a profit of $5.432 billion for calendar 2009.
Shares in BHP Billiton Ltd (ASX:BHP) fell 1.41% at $42.59. The miner’s Hay Point coal terminal in Queensland has been damaged by cyclone Ului, resulting in the port remaining closed. The company says walkways, cabling and parts of the berthing platforms have been damaged. An assessment will be conducted today to determine the extent of repairs and the likely timeframe to recommence shipping. Hay Point has been closed since March 11 due to high seas and railings to the terminal halted on March 18. Rainfall in the area had been predicted to ease by this morning. BHP Billiton posted a $7.243 billion net profit for fiscal 2009.
There’s just one company going ex-dividend today – Adtrans Group with an 8 cent fully franked dividend. Tomorrow we have Peet with a 4 cent fully franked dividend and Prime Media Group with a fully franked 1.2 cent dividend, and among those going ex-dividend on Thursday are Ausenco and ASG Group.
To commodities: Gold is down $8.10 at US$1,099.30 an ounce for the April contract on Comex. For the May contract silver fell 10 cents to US$16.92 and copper is up 1 cent at US$3.37.
And the price of oil has bounced back as the US currency weakened against the Euro, gaining $0.57 to US$81.25 a barrel for April light crude in New York.
