We’re looking at a weaker start on the Australian market this morning, as most international markets closed lower, with only precious metals ending higher.
US stocks finished the session lower after General Motors reported around a $4.6 billion loss during the second half of 2009 and a report came out showing that consumer borrowing has slipped back.
With just one hour left in the session on Wall Street, the Federal Reserve reported consumer credit fell at an annual rate of 5.6% in February to about $2.5 trillion, after increasing for the first time in a year in January.
That result was much worse than analysts had expected and the market reacted with the Dow tumbling more than 122 points immediately after the report's release.
Looking closer at the figures, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 72 points lower to 10,898. The S&P500 Index fell 7 points 1,182 and the NASDAQ is down 6 points to 2,431.
European stock markets closed lower as concerns linger about Greece’s debt problems. London’s FTSE dipped 18 points, Paris fell 27 points and Frankfurt lost 30 points.
Asian stocks finished mixed, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng is 392 points stronger, Tokyo’s Nikkei rose 11 points and China’s Shanghai Composite slipped 10 points.
The Australian share market closed at an 18 and a half month high yesterday. The S&P/ASX 200 Index finished 7 points higher to 4,961 and on the futures market the SPI200 is down 24 points. On to currencies: the Aussie Dollar at 8:35AM was buying 92.7 US cents, 60.86 Pence Sterling, 86.56 Yen and 69.5 Euro cents.
In economics news, we’ve got labour force figures coming out today for March from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
To company news around this morning: News Corp (ASX:NWS) shares slipped 0.48% to close at $18.77 yesterday. News Corp chairman Rupert Murdoch says that access by Google and Microsoft to the company’s newspapers could be limited to just a few story lines once a user pays models begins. In an interview for The Kalb Report, Mr Murdoch said he believed most US newspapers will end up charging readers online, as he does with The Wall Street Journal and plans to do with other newspapers - starting with the Times in London. Mr Murdoch says News Corp plans to stop companies like Google and Microsoft from taking content for free. But he added that he doesn’t expect search engines will pay for access, instead he’d be happy if they publish a headline or sentence or two, followed by a subscription form. Mr Murdoch has also dismissed concerns that readers would be reluctant to pay for the content. News Corp posted a $4 billion loss in 2009.
National Australia Bank (ASX:NAB) shares edged up 0.21% to $28 yesterday. The bank’s chief executive Cameron Clyne has revealed that National Australia Bank is looking at opportunities in Britain. It comes as the Royal Bank of Scotland's branch network moves to disposes British assets with the deadline for bids on a portfolio of 318 bank branches passing yesterday. Five bidders, including NAB, are believed to have indicated an interest in the branch network. Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Money, which has teamed up with US billionaire investor Wilbur Ross is among the contenders. While remaining fairly tight lipped NAB’s Cameron Clyne says the bank will assess the options as opportunities emerge and in doing so it will look at whether the right returns exist for shareholders. National Australia Bank’s 2009 net profit was $2.6 billion.
There are just two companies going ex-dividend today - Matrix Composites and Engineers with a 2 cent fully franked dividend and Noni B with a 6 cent, fully franked dividend.
To commodities: Gold jumped $17.20 at US$1,152.30 an ounce for the May contract on Comex. For the May contract silver added 27 cents to US$18.18 and copper is down about 2 cents at US$3.59.
And oil slipped 96 cents to US$85.88 a barrel for May light crude in New York.
