Following strong leads the Australian share market looks to build on four straight sessions of gains. Offshore markets rose after a pledge of support from French and German leaders to tackle the region’s sovereign debt woes. The optimism also pushed the Australian dollar above parity with the US dollar.
Figures
Wall Street started the week stronger: The Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 330 points to 11,433, the S&P500 added 39 points to close at 1,195 and the Nasdaq gained 87 points to close at 2,566.
European stocks closed higher: London’s FTSE was up 96 points, Paris was up 66 and Frankfurt was up 172 points.
To Asian markets, stocks finished mixed: Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was up 4 points, Tokyo Nikkei was up 84 and China’s Shanghai Composite was down 14.
Yesterday the Australian share market started the week 0.9 per cent stronger: The S&P/ASX 200 Index gained 38 points to close at 4,201. On the futures market the SPI is 55 points higher.
Currencies
The Australian Dollar at 8:30AM was buying $US1.0006, 63.93 Pence Sterling, 76.76 Yen and 73.39 Euro cents.
Company news
Shares in ANZ Banking Group (ASX:ANZ) rose 1.4 per cent on Monday, closing at $21.00. The bank has reportedly frozen the pay of more that 900 of its highest earners. An email to ANZ executives, obtained by the Australian Financial Review, says the bank's top two tiers of executives will have their potential salary increases cut by 1 per cent, meaning that most executives will not get a pay rise next year. In the email ANZ’s chief, Mike Smith, says that he recognises the message might be difficult for some but believes is the right thing for the business to do in the current climate. In the first half of its 2011 financial year ANZ recorded a net profit of $2.7 billion.
Shares in Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX:CBA) added 0.99 per cent yesterday to finish at $46.71. CBA has launched a cost cutting program it calls Project 35, aimed at lowering its cost-to-income ratio for its retail banking unit. According to The Australian, CBA is targeting to cut its cost-to-income ratio from 38.7 per cent to 35 per cent by 2013. CBA has told the paper that it is not planning any job cuts as part of Project 35, despite staff expenses accounting for around 60 per cent of costs. Rather, CBA says it will do things more efficiently and more effectively. In the 2011 financial year CBA reported a net profit of $6.4 billion.
Ex-dividends
Five companies are going ex-dividend today: Aberdeen Leaders, Australian Vintage, K&K Corporation, Matrix Composites & Engineering and United Overseas Australia. Among those coming up later this week: TPG Telecom and Ausdrill.
Commodities
Gold is up $35.00 to $US1,670 an ounce for the December contract on Comex.
Silver is up $0.99 cents to $31.98.
Copper is up $0.09 at $3.37 a pound.
Oil is up $2.43 at $85.41 a barrel for November light crude in New York.
