Aussie shares look set to rise this morning, receiving positive offshore leads. Wall St closed stronger with the Dow and S&P clocking up their highest levels since 2008 after the Federal Reserve said it will leave interest rates unchanged near historic lows. The Fed also confirmed it will continue with its $600 billion bond buying program, and said though the economy is slowly improving, it remains cautious about recovery.
US economic news: The Commerce Department reported new homes sales were better than expected in December. New homes bought in the month increased 17.5 per cent compared to November. The figures represented an eight month high, though for 2010, represented the lowest level in 47 years.
On Wednesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average, closed 8 points higher to 11,985, S&P500 rose 5 points to close 1,297 and the NASDAQ added 20 points to close 2,740.
European stocks were higher: London’s FTSE up 52 points, Paris up 29 and Frankfurt up 68.
To Asian markets, stocks were mixed: Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was up 54 points, Tokyo was down 63 points and China’s Shanghai Composite up 31 points.
The Australian share market finished higher on Tuesday. The S&P/ASX 200 Index lifted 22 points to close at 4,808 and on the futures market the SPI is up 29 points. Turning to currencies and the Australian Dollar at 8:40AM was buying 99.9 US cents, 62.73 Pence Sterling, 82.16 Yen and 72.88 Euro cents.
In economic news: Due out today, the Westpac-Melbourne Institute leading indexes of economic activity.
Company news: On Tuesday shares in Newcrest Mining Ltd (ASX:NCM) added 1.59 per cent to close at $37.62. Financial services firm JPMorgan has told The Australian that Newcrest Mining could rise in value through a secondary listing on the Toronto Stock Exchange. Late last year the gold miner reportedly indicated it would target a northern hemisphere listing and Canada has been suggested as the location. According to the paper, JP Morgan says a potential Canadian listing may present a catalyst for a re-rating, considering Newcrest's attractive growth profile over the next few years. JPMorgan forecasts Newcrests’ output to jump by around 85 per cent between 2009-10 and 2014-15. Newcrest generated a net profit of $602 million in the year to 30 June 2010.
On Tuesday shares in BC Iron Ltd (ASX:BCI) closed steady at $3.25. Australian regulators have given Hong Kong-listed Regent Pacific Group Ltd the green light for its $345 million takeover of Perth-based junior miner BC Iron Ltd. The Australian Foreign Investment Review Board has now declared it has no objection to the proposed transaction. Just last week BC Iron recommended its shareholders accept Regent Pacific’s $3.30 cash per share bid to acquire the remaining 81 per cent of the company that Regent doesn't already own. The scheme of arrangement is expected to be implemented within the first half of this year. BC Iron booked a net loss of $1.4 million in the year to 30 June 2010.
To ex-dividends: There are no going ex-dividend today, but coming up tomorrow is Djerriwarrh Investments with a $0.10 cent fully franked dividend.
To commodities: Gold is up $0.70 to $US1,333 an ounce for the February contract on Comex, silver is up $0.32 to $27.13 for March and copper is up $0.04 to $4.27 a pound. Oil is up $1.14 at $87.33 a barrel for March light crude in New York.
