After the sixth straight day of losses on Wall St the Australian market is expected to open lower this morning.
US
The Federal Reserve’s ‘Beige Book’ says growth slowed in some US regions in May, due to supply disruptions stemming from the earthquake in Japan in March, and costlier food and energy prices.
Figures
The Dow Jones Industrial Average is down 22 points, closing at 12,049, the S&P500 dropped 5 points to close at 1,280 and the NASDAQ fell 26 points to close at 2,675.
European stocks closed lower yesterday; London’s FTSE down 56 points, Paris down 34 points and Frankfurt was down 43 points. Asian markets were mixed; Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was down 207 points, Tokyo’s Nikkei was up 7 and China’s Shang Hai composite was up 6.
The S&P/ASX 200 Index lost 30 points to close at 4,537. While on the futures market the SPI is currently down 20.
Currencies
The Australian Dollar at 7:30AM was buying $1.0632 US cents, 64.86 Pence Sterling, 84.99 Yen and 72.93 Euro cents.
Economic news
The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) is set to release labour force data for May today.
Company news
Shares in Fairfax Media (ASX:FXJ) closed 0.51 per cent higher at $0.995, yesterday. The company has confirmed it is reviewing its portfolio of assets, claiming it is to maximise stakeholder value. Despite speculation though, the company says it hasn’t made a decision to sell its New Zealand auction site Trade Me. For the second half of last year, Fairfax Media (ASX:FXJ) reported a profit of $172.9 million.
Yesterday shares in Kingsgate (ASX:KCN) closed 5.34 per cent lower at $8.16. The goldminer received final approvals to access all areas of its Chatree operation yesterday, once it addresses a pit-wall failure and stress cracks that were accentuated by the wet season. For the second half of last year, Kingsgate (ASX:KCN) reported a profit of $11.5 million.
Ex-dividends
No companies are going ex dividend today, but tomorrow will see Troy Resources (ASX:TRY) and Tower (ASX:TWR) go ex-dividend.
Commodities
Gold is down $5.30 to $US1,538 an ounce for the August contract on Comex, silver is down $0.43 to $36.62 for July and copper is down $0.04 at $4.11 a pound. Oil is up $1.65 at $100.74 a barrel for July light crude in New York.
