The SPI is pointing to a soft start to the week for the Australian share market, despite Wall St closing higher on Friday on positive news from the technology sector and an encouraging read on the rate of US economic growth. In overseas trade the Australian dollar hit a record 102.94 US cents, before easing back and is currently trading at 102.6 US cents.
US economic news: The Commerce Department reported that the nation’s fourth-quarter GDP grew at an annual pace of 3.1 per cent. The figure was up from the latest estimate of 2.8 per cent, though still lower than the original estimate of 3.2 per cent growth. Also, The University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment survey produced a read in line with expectations, coming in at 68.2 for March, easing from 77.5 per cent the month before.
At the end of last week, Dow Jones Industrial Average, closed 50 points higher at 12,221, S&P500 added 4 points to close at 1,314 and the NASDAQ gained 7 points to close at 2,743.
European stocks ended the week higher: London’s FTSE up 20 points, Paris up 4 and Frankfurt up 13.
To Asian markets, stocks were also higher: Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was up 243, Tokyo Nikkei was up 101 and China’s Shanghai Composite was up 31 points.
The Australian share market finished last week higher for the sixth straight session: The S&P/ASX 200 Index rose 43 points to close at 4,743. On the futures market the SPI is currently 9 points weaker.
Turning to currencies and the Australian Dollar at 7:40AM was buying $1.026 US cents, 64.12 Pence Sterling, 83.55 Yen and 73.09 Euro cents.
Company news: Shares in Woodside Petroleum Ltd's (ASX:WPL) closed 2.55 per cent stronger at the end of last week at $46.72, after jumping almost 6 per cent in Friday’s early trade, on renewed speculation that the oil and gas producer is a takeover target. Global mining giant BHP Billiton Ltd (ASX:BHP) has been tipped by some as a likely suitor for Royal Dutch Shell’s unwanted 24 per cent stake in Woodside, that could come with a price tag of as much as $9 billion. Shares in Woodside have climbed 12.4 per cent since the middle of March. In the 2010 financial year Woodside reported a net profit of $1.5 billion.
On Friday shares in Wesfarmers Ltd (ASX:WES) firmed 0.44 per cent to close at $31.65. Australia’s biggest spending advertisers have been revealed and coal to supermarkets conglomerate Wesfarmers has topped the list. Research group The Nielsen Company has reported Wesfarmers injected almost $240 million into advertising last year, up 15 per cent from the year before. In second spot was Woolworths (ASX:WOW), boosting ad spending by almost 18 per cent to $166 million. Harvey Norman Holdings Ltd (ASX:HVN) spent $145 million in 2010, up 7 per cent from the year before. In the first six months of the 2011 financial year, Wesfarmers booked a net profit of $1.2 billion.
Ex-dividends: And seven companies are going ex-dividend today. Among them we have Consolidated Media Holdings with a $0.10 unfranked dividend, Crown with an $0.18, 60% franked dividend and Seven Group with an $0.18 fully franked dividend.
Commodities: Gold is down $13.70 to $US1,426 an ounce for the April contract on Comex, silver is down $0.33 to $37.05 for May and copper is down $0.02 at $4.42 a pound. Oil is down $0.20 at $105.40 a barrel for April light crude in New York.
