Major indices increase: Aus shares to open higher

Market Reports

by Kathy Skantzos

Following positive leads from US markets, the Australian share market looks set to open higher this morning.

The major indices posted record closing highs, even though the major banks were on a losing streak after a yield curve plateau and Republican electoral losses.

Wal-Mart was a best performing stock which added to the Dow’s increase. Consumer staples performed well which pushed the S&P 500 up, and the Nasdaq also rose.

The greenback has weakened over concerns of tax reform delays.

On the commodities front, oil has dropped while gold is higher and iron ore has jumped up 1.7 per cent.

US economic news

The Redbook Index increased by 2.6% last week from the same time last year, showing same store sales growth year on year in the US.

Mortgage applications stalled last week after a 2.6% drop the previous period. Refinancing applications went down half a per cent and the average fixed 30-year mortgage rate declined to 4.18 per cent.

Local economic news

The ABS will release home loan figures for September.

Figures

Wall Street closed higher yesterday: The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.03 per cent to close at 23,563, the S&P 500 added 0.1 per cent to close at 2,594 and the NASDAQ gained 0.3 per cent to close at 6,789.

European markets closed mixed: London’s FTSE is up 0.2 per cent, Paris lost 0.2 per cent and Frankfurt gained 0.02 per cent.

Asian markets closed mixed: Tokyo’s Nikkei lost 0.1 per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng dropped 0.3 per cent, and China’s Shanghai Composite is up 0.1 per cent.

And back home, the Australian share market closed higher yesterday: The S&P/ASX 200 Index closed 2 points up to finish at 6,016.

On the futures market the SPI is 12 points up.

Company news

Domino’s Pizza (ASX:DMP) reported same store sales in the Australia and New Zealand region have increased 4.45 per cent so far in FY2018, with growth expected to jump 7.9 per cent for the full year. The fast food chain’s group same store sales increased by more than 5 per cent on the previous corresponding period (pcp), highlighting solid sales growth in Europe and Japan as well as locally. At its AGM today, the company unveiled Domino’s Pizza Checker in partnership with Dragontail Systems (ASX:DTS), which uses AI computer technology to provide real-time quality control of its pizzas to customers. Shares in Domino’s Pizza (ASX:DMP) are trading 0.06 per cent higher to $48.10.

Superannuation fund Mainstream (ASX:MAI) has completed the acquisition of IRESS’s super administration business for customer-owned banks for $2.75 million. The transaction is expected to deliver growth opportunities and scale to the group’s superannuation administration business, Mainstream Superannuation Services, with the addition of 14 new superannuation fund clients, upgraded technology and access to prospective clients. Shares in Mainstream (ASX:MAI) are trading 1.96 per cent higher to $0.52.

Ex-dividends

4 companies are going ex-dividend today:

Australian Pharmaceuticals (ASX:API) is paying 3.5 cents fully franked, NAB (ASX:NAB) is paying 99 cents fully franked, Restaurant Brands New Zealand (ASX:RBD) is paying 10.59 cents unfranked, and Waterco Limited (ASX:WAT) is paying 3 cents fully franked.

Currencies

One Australian Dollar at 8:50 AM was buying 76.78 US cents, 58.55 Pence Sterling, 87.43 Yen and 66.24 Euro cents.

Commodities

Gold has gained $5.80 to $US1,282 an ounce.
Silver has gained $0.07 to $US17.02 an ounce.
Oil has lost $0.38 to $US56.82 a barrel.

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