Having received mixed leads, the SPI is pointing to a positive start for the Australian share market. After returning from the Independence Day holiday, US stocks ended with little changed in a thinly traded session. In Europe, Moody’s has cut Portugal’s debt ratings to junk, stoking concerns over the region’s financial future.
US economic news
The Commerce Department reported that factory orders increased less than expected, up 0.8 per cent in May from a fall of 0.9 per cent the month before.
Figures
On Tuesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 13 points to close at 12,570, the S&P500 eased 2 points to close at 1,338 and the NASDAQ gained 10 points to close at 2,826.
European stocks closed mixed: London’s FTSE up 6 points, Paris down 24 and Frankfurt was down 4 points.
To Asian markets and stocks were also mixed Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was down 23, Tokyo Nikkei was up 7 and China’s Shanghai Composite was up 4 points.
The Australian share market finished lower on Tuesday: The S&P/ASX 200 Index fell 13 points to close at 4,598. On the futures market the SPI is 9 points higher.
Turning to currencies and the Australian Dollar at 7:30AM was buying $1.0693 US cents, 66.58 Pence Sterling, 86.71 Yen and 74.14 Euro cents.
Company news
Yesterday shares in Fortescue Metals Group Ltd (ASX:FMG) lost 0.15 per cent to close at $6.47. Iron ore miner Fortescue has confirmed that it’s eyeing a return to the debt market for funding. CFO Stephen Pearce says deciding on what form of approach and what markets to access has still not been decided but is likely to occur at some point during this year. Fortescue is targeting to triple production to 155 million tonnes per annum and abandoned its attempt to raise $US1 billion in May, it said, due to weakness in credit market conditions. In the first half of the 2011 financial year, Fortescue recorded a net profit of $309 million.
Shares in Audio Pixels Holdings Ltd (ASX:AKP) gained 2.67 per cent to close at $9.24 , that was after the audio company said it had inked a development deal with Japanese electronics giant Sony. Under the deal Sony will fund much of the cost of Audio Pixels Holdings developing its patented digital speakers into a mass-manufacturable product. The deal could also lead to both companies entering into a commercial licence agreement once development is complete. In the first half of its 2011 financial year, Audio Pixels Holdings reported a net loss of $530,000.
Ex-dividends
The only company going ex-dividend today is iShares Russell 2000. Coming up later this week are Abacus Property Group and Trafalgar Corporate.
Commodities
Gold is up $30.10 to $US1,512 an ounce for the August contract on Comex, silver is up $1.71 to $35.41 for September and copper is up $0.05 at $4.35 a pound. Oil is up $1.95 at $96.89 a barrel for August light crude in New York.
