The Australian share market is expected to open stronger today after receiving positive leads from offshore trading overnight. All key securities indices are higher along with most commodities. The rally in shares is also supported by positive economic data from the US and China coupled with the prospect of quantitative easing in Europe.
On Thursday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average, closed 107 points stronger to 11,362. S&P500 lifted 15 points to 1,222 and the NASDAQ is 30 points higher to 2,579. European stocks were higher: London’s FTSE is up 125 points, Paris is up 78 points and Frankfurt is up 91. To Asian markets, stocks also advanced: Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was up 199, Tokyo’s Nikkei was up 180 points and China’s Shanghai Composite is up 20 points. The Australian share market finished higher on Thursday. The S&P/ASX 200 Index lifted 90 points to close at 4,676 and on the futures market the SPI is up 45 points. Turning to currencies and the Aussie Dollar at 8:30AM was buying 97.57 US cents, 62.53 Pence Sterling, 81.84 Yen and 73.79 Euro cents.
Company news: Shares in Suncorp-Metway Ltd (ASX:SUN) closed 1.44 per cent higher to $9.14. Suncorp’s proposed business restructure has received regulatory approval from the Australian Prudential Regulatory Authority and Treasurer Wayne Swan. The restructure, which was announced on November 4, will see the group’s general insurance, banking insurance and life insurance divisions formed into separate groups, each with its own non-operating holding company structure. For the year ended 30 June 2010, Suncorp booked a net profit of $789 million.
Shares in CSR Ltd (ASX:CSR) closed 0.33 per cent higher to $1.68. CSR’s shareholders are incurring costs of as much as $300,000 a day because of delays by the New Zealand foreign investment regulator. The New Zealand regulator has to approve the $1.75 billion sale of the company’s sugar business to Singapore’s Wilmar International. The sale of Sucrogen to Wilmar has received approval from the Foreign Investment Review Board in Australia early last month, but is now pending the approval of the Overseas Investment Office in Zealand. For the six months ended 30 September 2010, CSR reported a net profit of $73.8 million.
Ex-dividends now: Three companies going ex-dividend today and they are Australian Masters Corporate Bond Fund No. 2 with a $2 fully franked dividend, AHC Ltd with a $0.10 fully franked dividend, and Campell Brothers with a $0.65 partially franked dividend.
To commodities: Gold is up $1 to $US1,389 an ounce for the December contract on Comex, silver is up $0.159 to $28.57 and copper is up $0.031 to $3.98 a pound. Oil is up $1.25 at $88 for December light crude in New York.
