The Australian share market looks set for a flat start following mainly negative overseas leads with renewed concerns about the global economic outlook. Wall Street ended the day mixed on inflation worries, the SPI reaffirming a lacklustre opening.
In US economic news: The Labor Department has reported the number of initial job claims rose to 412,000 in the week ended April 9, that’s up 27,000 from the week prior.
And in a second report, The Labor Department said its seasonally adjusted index for prices paid at the farm and factory gate rose 0.3 percent in March. The increase from a year ago was the largest since August 2009.
To the figures and on Thursday and the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 14 points to close at 12,285, S&P500 is flat, closing at 1,315 and the NASDAQ fell 1 point to close at 2,760.
European stocks ended lower: London’s FTSE down 47 points, Paris down 36 and Frankfurt down 31.
To Asian markets and stocks closed mixed: Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was down 121, Tokyo’s Nikkei was up 13 and China’s Shanghai Composite was down 8 points.
The Australian share market closed lower on Thursday: The S&P/ASX 200 Index fell 27 points to close at 4,884. While on the futures market the SPI is currently 4 points higher.
Turning to currencies and the Australian Dollar at 8:00AM was buying $US1.054 cents, 64.49 Pence Sterling, 88.03 Yen and 72.76 Euro cents.
Company news: On Thursday shares in Fortescue Metals Group Ltd (ASX:FMG) rose 0.61 per cent to close at $6.57. Fortescue is said to be considering a listing of its magnetite iron ore resources on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. That’s according to the Australian Financial Review. It’s part of an effort to attract capital needed to develop its Pilbara deposits. Another option is said to be the listing of Fortescue itself. In the first half of the 2011 financial year Fortescue Metals booked a net profit of $309 million.
Yesterday shares in Roc Oil Company Ltd (ASX:ROC) is flat closing at $0.46. Roc Oil says its focused on expansion in China, entering Malaysia and selling its stake in the BMG offshore Victorian project and African assets. The new chief executive Alan Linn says the company is beginning a new chapter and that Africa was simply too expensive to explore. The Malaysian projects, if successful could deliver cashflow in two to three years. ROC’s poor 2010 results were overshadowed by losses for BMG. In the financial year ended 31 December 2010, Roc Oil posted a net loss of $35 million.
Ex-dividends: There are three companies going ex-dividend today, they are CTI Logistics with a $0.03 cent fully franked dividend, FFI Holdings with a $0.10 cent fully franked dividend, and Washington H. Soul Pattinson and Co. with a $0.15 cent fully franked dividend.
Commodities: Gold is up $16.80 to $US1,472 an ounce for the June contract on Comex, silver is up $1.43 to $41.66 for May and copper is down $0.01 at $4.28 a pound. Oil is up $1.00 at $108.11 a barrel for May light crude in New York.
