The Australian share market looks set to open considerably lower this morning after a disappointing finish on Wall Street on Friday.
US stocks took a battering on the latest jobs data and the Euro’s fall to a new four-year low on concerns Hungary could be the next victim of the eurozone debt crisis.
On the economic front, fewer jobs than expected were added in May. A Labor Department report found 431,000 jobs were created last month, most of which were temporary government posts for this year’s census. At least 500,000 jobs had been expected to be created.
To the figures, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 323 points to close at 9,932. The S&P500 Index is down 38 points at 1,065 and the NASDAQ lost 84 points to 2,219.
European stocks finished weaker; London’s FTSE lost 85 points, Paris is down 102 and Frankfurt declined 116 points.
Asian markets closed mixed on Friday. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng slipped 7 points, Tokyo’s Nikkei lost 13 and China’s Shanghai Composite is steady.
The Australian share market closed lower on Friday on weaker metals prices. The S&P/ASX 200 Index lost 37 points to finish at 4,449 and on the futures market the SPI200 is down 114 points. Turning to currencies and the Aussie Dollar at 8:40AM was buying 82.04 US cents, 56.85 Pence Sterling, 75.24 Yen and 68.69 Euro cents. In local economic news: The Australian Industry Group and the Housing Industry Association release their performance of construction index for May today, ANZ announces its job ads series for May and Rabobank’s quarterly rural confidence survey is also due for release.
In company news around this morning: Shares in Foster’s Group Ltd (ASX:FGL) closed higher on Friday, up 1.07% to $5.65. The beverages giant continued to lose market share in the beer sector in April, according to data from research firm AC Nielsen. The company’s Victoria Bitter brand remained the country’s biggest-selling beer by value, but its market share was down from 17% to 15% compared to a year ago. Sales of Pure Blonde, Foster’s low-carbohydrate beer, were down 14% by value in April. Overall beer sales by volume declined 3% across the industry, although prices were up 4%. Foster’s new managing director of its beer division, John Pollaers, has pledged to return the business to growth through a renewed focus on brand marketing even as the company prepares to split its beer and wine divisions. Foster’s Group posted a profit of just over $438 million in fiscal 2009.
Shares in Suncorp-Metway Ltd (ASX:SUN) closed 0.24% higher on Friday to $8.21. The car insurer has been trialling the use of new technology aimed at slashing repair times for crashed and scratched cars. The Sydney Morning Herald reports that Suncorp executives will meet NSW and Victorian motor trades associations this week to discuss their plan to extract cost savings across the company’s car insurance business. The technology, which allows car paint to dry in under five minutes, has been developed over the past three years by a veteran smash repairer, who has taken on Suncorp’s AAMI unit as a private financial backer. The resulting faster repair times could save Suncorp as much as 30% across one of the biggest expense items of its car insurance business. Suncorp-Metway recorded a $348 million net profit in fiscal 2009.
Checking ex-dividends now, Campbell Brothers is going today with a 55 cent 50% franked dividend. And looking ahead, CSR is going ex-dividend on Wednesday with a fully franked 6 cent dividend.
To commodities, and the price of gold rose $7.90 to US$1,216.20 an ounce for the June contract on Comex. Silver is down 63 cents at US$17.29 and copper fell 13 cents to US$2.81.
And the price of oil gained $3.10 to US$71.51 a barrel for July light crude in New York.
