The Australian share market looks to be in for a positive start to the day, following on from a stronger finish on Friday despite our worst week since August last year. Wall St also closed Friday’s session higher though lodged its worst week since November, as concerns mounted over political tensions in oil-rich Libya and rising oil prices.
US economic news: The US Bureau of Economic Analysis showed gross domestic product slowed to an annual rate of 2.8 per cent in the December quarter, well under the 3.3 per cent increase that had been forecast.
On Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 62 points to close at 12,130, S&P500 added 14 points to close 1,320 and the NASDAQ gained 43 points to close 2,781.
European stocks closed stronger at the end of last week: London’s FTSE up 81 points, Paris up 61 and Frankfurt up 55.
To Asian markets and stocks were mostly higher: Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was up 411, Tokyo Nikkei was up 74 and China’s Shanghai Composite was flat.
The Australian share market finished higher on Friday. The S&P/ASX 200 Index firmed 27 points to close at 4,837 and on the futures market the SPI is up 20 points.
Turning to currencies and the Australian Dollar at 7:35AM was buying $US1.0152 cents, 63.04 Pence Sterling, 82.99 Yen and 73.81 Euro cents.
Economic news: Due out is the Australian Bureau of Statistics business indicators for December quarter and also, the TD Securities/Melbourne Institute inflation gauge for February.
Company news: Fortescue Metals Group Ltd (ASX:FMG) lifted 0.62 per cent at the end of last week to close at $6.50. Fortescue Metals Group has announced that it has made a major iron ore discovery in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, 35 kilometres south from the company’s Cloudbreak operations. Fortescue says it has identified over one billion tonnes of high-grade Brockman ore which is likely to increase as further drilling is conducted. The iron ore miner has launched a feasibility study and aims to develop the deposit as rapidly as possible. Fortescue says the proximity of the latest discovery to its existing operations and infrastructure significantly boosts their collective value. Earlier this month Fortescue posted a seven-fold jump in its first half-year earnings, booking a net profit of $309 million in the six months to 31 December, 2010.
On Friday Downer EDI Ltd (ASX:DOW) firmed 0.51 per cent to close at $3.92. Downer EDI has been tipped to today announce a capital raising for up to $300 million, to shore up its balance sheet, according to The Australian. Sources close to Downer EDI have told the paper that the engineering company will conduct the raising through a renounceable rights issue, believed to be priced at a 15 per cent discount to the theoretical ex-rights price. The news comes following Downer warning last month it will take a $250 million provision related to the Waratah train project in New South Wales, adding to a $190 million charge that Downer took on the project in the middle of 2010. In the 2010 financial year Downer EDI recorded a net profit of just over $3 million.
Ex-dividends: And 27 companies are going ex-dividend today. Among them we ASX with a $0.90 cent fully franked dividend, AXA Asia Pacific Holdings with a $0.09 cent unfranked dividend, Coca-Cola Amatil with a $0.28 cent fully franked dividend, Fletcher Building with a $0.10 cent fully franked dividend, Mermaid Marine Australia with a $0.04 cent fully franked dividend, Spotless Group with a $0.05 cent 60% franked dividend, UGL with a $0.32 cent fully franked dividend and WorleyParsons with a $0.36 cent fully franked dividend. Among those companies coming up tomorrow is Aristocrat Leisure with a $0.02 cent unfranked dividend.
Commodities: Gold is down $4.80 to $US1,409 an ounce for the April contract on Comex, silver is down $0.59 to $32.90 for March and copper is up $0.12 at $4.44 a pound. Oil is up $0.60 at $97.88 a barrel for April light crude in New York.
