Aussie shares may open higher this morning, encouraged by US stocks lifting on Tuesday. Gains by investment bank Goldman Sachs helped Wall Street to recover from loses earlier in the session to finish stronger.
In economic news out of the US: Housing starts dropped 5% to their lowest level of the year in June and at an annual rate of 549,000. Building permits grew 2.1% to an annual rate of 586,000. Also, a monthly report from The Labor Department has shown that unemployment eased in more than half of the US states in June.
On Tuesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 76 points higher at 10,230. The S&P 500 Index gained 12 point at 1,083 and the NASDAQ is up 24 points at 2,222.
European stocks were lower; London’s FTSE down 9 points, Paris is down 18 and Frankfurt down 42.
Asian markets were mixed: Hong Kong’s Hang Seng up 174 points on Tuesday, Tokyo’s Nikkei was down 108 and China’s Shanghai Composite was up 53.
The Australian share market finished stronger on Tuesday. The S&P/ASX 200 Index closed 45 points higher at 4,404 and on the futures market the SPI200 is up 41 points. Turning to currencies and the Aussie Dollar at 7:30AM was buying 88.31 US cents, 57.82 Pence Sterling, 77.26 Yen and 68.54 Euro cents.
In local economic news: The Westpac-Melbourne Institute Indices of Economic Activity for May is due today.
In business news: Shares in Country Road Ltd (ASX:CTY) last traded at $3.72. Country Road anticipates profit will be between 15% and 20% down on last year. In a trading update for the 12 months to June the retailer says sales for the year ending 30 June were up 8.5% compared to the corresponding period, but like for like sales were only up 1.5%. CEO John Cheston attributes the results to a highly competitive retail market, adding that the immediate economic outlook remains challenging, but the business remains cautiously optimistic. Country Road reported a profit of $15.65 million for the year ending 30 June 2009.
Shares in Woolworths Ltd (ASX:WOW) dropped 0.04% to $26.68 yesterday. According to The Age, Woolworths is expected to today announce $11.7 billion in fourth-quarter sales, equating to historically low growth of 5%. The supermarket retailer’s sales report is expected to be indicative of what is likely to be expected from other major retailers for the period, reports the Age. The paper says Woolworths performance will provide crucial insight into the retail sector and the affects of the 2008/09 government stimulus package. Woolworths posted a profit of $1.8 billion for the year ending 30 June, 2009.
To commodities, and the price of gold is up $9.80 to US$1,191.50 an ounce for the July contract on Comex. Silver is up $0.15 cents to US$17.68 and copper is up $0.07 at $3.00 pound.
The price of oil is up $0.90 to US$77.44 a barrel for August light crude in New York.
