The SPI is pointing to positive start for the Australian market, despite Wall Street closing in the red. US stocks slipped as concern brewed over the impending deadline to raise the nation’s debt ceiling in order to avoid default. The cautious tone pushed the price of safe-haven asset gold to a new high of $US1612 an ounce.
Figures
On Wall Street: The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 88 points to close at 12,593, the S&P500 lost 8 points to close at 1,337 and the NASDAQ fell 16 points to close at 2,843
European stocks started the week mixed: London’s FTSE was down 10 points, Paris down 30 and Frankfurt was up 18 points.
To Asian markets, stocks finished lower: Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was down 152, Tokyo Nikkei was down 82 and China’s Shanghai Composite down 82 points.
The Australian share market sunk 1.6 per cent on Monday. The S&P/ASX 200 Index shed 73 points to close at 4,530. On the futures market the SPI is 22 points higher.
Currencies
The Australian Dollar at 7:30AM was buying 1.0846 US cents, 66.63 Pence Sterling, 84.92 Yen and 75.44 Euro cents.
Economic news
Due out today, the Housing Industry Association’s Trades Report for the June quarter.
Company news
Shares in PanAust Limited (ASX:PNA) eased 0.94 per cent on Monday, closing at $4.23. PanAust has blamed wet weather and higher costs for a fall in annual copper production. The miner now expects copper concentrate production to come it at the lower end of the forecast range of between 62,000 to 65,000 tonnes. However, the drop is likely to be offset by stronger gold and silver prices. PauAust expects production for both precious metals to meet the higher end of its forecast range in fiscal 2011. In the first six months of the current financial year PanAust reported a net profit of $157.5 million.
Yesterday shares in AWE Limited (ASX:AWE) fell to the worst performer in the S&P/ASX200, plunging 10.2 per cent to close at $1.32. That was after the oil and gas explorer cut the estimated oil reserves at its 42.5 per cent owned $270 million Tui development off New Zealand. AWE operates the project as part of a joint venture with Mitsui, New Zealand Oil & Gas Limited (NZE:NZO) and Pan Pacific Petroleum NL (ASX:PPP). The company has cut reserves by as much as 21 per cent, but says the carrying value of the project will not need to be adjusted as the assessed value of the remaining reserves is in excess of the current book value. In the first six months of the current financial year AWE booked a net loss of $49.8 million.
Commodities
Gold is up $10.70 to $US1,612 an ounce for the August contract on Comex, silver is up $0.24 to $40.36 for September and copper is flat at $4.41 a pound. Oil is down $0.67 at $99.20 a barrel for September light crude in New York.
