The SPI is pointing to a slightly higher start to the week for Aussie shares ahead of the earnings season. On Friday Wall St closed stronger on the back of encouraging corporate results, and despite January’s jobs report, while the Australian share market closed the week at a 10-month high.
US economic news: The Labor Department reported that the US economy gained 36,000 jobs in January, less than the 149,000 jobs that had been expected. While the unemployment rate fell unexpectedly to 9 per cent for the first month of the year, down from 9.4 per cent in December.
On Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average, closed 30 points higher to 12,092, S&P500 gained 4 points to close 1,311 and the NASDAQ added 15 points to close 2,769.
European stocks were higher: London’s FTSE up 14 points, Paris up 11 and Frankfurt up 23.
To Asian markets: Hong Hong and China were closed. Tokyo was up 112 points. The Australian share market finished firmer on Friday. The S&P/ASX 200 Index rose 42 points to close at 4,863 and on the futures market the SPI is up 8 points. Turning to currencies and the Australian Dollar at 8:45AM was buying $US1.012, 62.5 Pence Sterling, 83.29 Yen and 74.69 Euro cents.
Economic news: Due out today is the Australian Bureau of Statistics retail trade for December 2010,ANZ job advertisements series for January and the Australian Industry Group/Housing Industry Association Australian performance of construction index for January.
Company news: On Friday shares Telstra Ltd (ASX:TLS) rose 2.51 per cent to close at $2.86. Telstra shareholders will be looking for the silver lining when Australia’s biggest telecommunications company releases its half year results on Thursday, 10 February. Despite having earlier warned of a low double digit fall in earnings, it is expected the telco will maintain an interim dividend of 14 cents per share fully franked. However analysts have also forecast Telstra’s EBITDA could fall by up to 12.5 per cent to $4.7 billion while revenue has been tipped to suffer a smaller fall of just under one per cent to around $12 billion. Telstra booked a net profit of $3.9 billion in the 2010 financial year.
On Friday shares in Qantas Airways Ltd (ASX:QAN) slipped 0.82 per cent to close at $2.41. Qantas is eyeing off potential Chinese airline partners as it looks to grow its international network. CEO Alan Joyce has told Fairfax that the airline is exploring joint venture opportunities with a Chinese carrier to give Qantas a bigger network footprint. Mr Joyce says that last year 56 million Chinese people travelled abroad and that the Chinese outbound travel market is forecast to grow at an annual rate of around 16 per cent until 2020. In the 2010 financial year Qantas Airways generated a net profit of $116 million.
Ex-dividends: Eldorado Gold is going ex-dividend with a 4.25 cent unfranked dividend. Coming up tomorrow is Crane Group.
To commodities: Gold is down $4.00 to $US1,349 an ounce for the April contract on Comex, silver is up $0.33 to $29.06 for March and copper is up $0.04 to $4.58 a pound.Oil is down $1.51 at $89.03 a barrel for March light crude in New York.
