Outlook: Aus shares may be in for slightly weaker to flat start

Market Reports

The Australian share market may be in for a slightly weaker to flat start this morning after stocks on Wall St slipped into the red overnight. However stronger metals prices may give local miners a boost today.

US stocks finished the session slightly lower on Wednesday with concerns over the health of the global economy continuing to linger.

With no major economic news out on Wednesday, worries about the state of the euro zone put pressure on stocks and kept investors on the sidelines.

CNN Money says economic and political uncertainty ahead of midterm elections and new tax policies is making investors nervous.

Turning to the figures, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 23 points lower on Wednesday at 10,835. The S&P 500 Index closed 3 points weaker at 1,144 and the NASDAQ is also down 3 at 2,377.

European stocks were also weaker: London’s FTSE down 9 points, Paris fell 25 and Frankfurt lost 29.

Asian markets were mixed on Wednesday: Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was 269 points higher, Tokyo’s Nikkei up 64 points and China’s Shanghai Composite was down under a point.

The Australian share market finished lower yesterday. The S&P/ASX 200 Index closed 25 lower at 4,645 and on the futures market the SPI200 is down 5 points. Turning to currencies and the Aussie Dollar at 7:40AM was buying 96.87 US cents, 61.36 Pence Sterling, 81.10 Yen and 71.11 Euro cents.

In local economic news: Out to day is the RBA’s Financial Stability Review and financial aggregates data for August, ABS job vacancies data and building approvals data also for the month of August.

In company news: Shares in Lend Lease Group (ASX:LLC) closed steady $7.76 yesterday. The company has reached financial close on its US$377 million army family housing project in Alaska. The project with the US Department of the Army is for the delivery of the North Haven Communities which involves the development of family housing at two army installations, Fort Wainwright and Fort Greely. The project includes the development, construction, renovation and management of 1,815 homes over 50 years. Lend Lease says the project has an initial development budget of US$377 million over the first seven years. Lend Lease booked a profit of $348.2 million for the 12 months to June 30, 2010.

Shares in iron ore miner Brockman Resources Ltd (ASX:BRM) fell 0.06% to $3.80 on Wednesday. A definitive feasibility study into Brockman’s Marillana iron ore project in the Pilbara of Western Australia has shown the project could earn over $35 billion in revenue over the life of the operation. The study projects that payback could be achieved in less than four years at an average production rate of 17 million dry tonnes per annum of high grade iron ore. Brockman says subject to a positive bankable feasibility study and final investment decision, targeted for the third quarter of calendar 2011, site construction is forecast for the fourth quarter of next year, culminating in mining commencing in 2013. Brockman Resources posted a loss of $24.23 million for the 2010 financial year.

To ex-dividends: There are three companies going ex-dividend today, PMP with a 1 cent fully franked dividend, Spider S&P/ASX200 Fund amount to be announced, and WHK Group with a 4 cent fully franked dividend.

To commodities: and the price of gold is up US$2.30 to US $1310 an ounce for the December contract on Comex, silver is up US$0.25 to $21.95 and copper is up $0.02 at $3.65 a pound.

The price of oil is up $1.68 to US$77.86 a barrel for November light crude in New York.


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