The Australian share market looks poised to rise after global markets posted gains. Stocks lifted on upbeat comments from Europe and a positive start to the US reporting season.
Fitch Ratings has suggested Europe is on the right track to tackling its sovereign debt situation, The head of the ratings agency’s sovereign group, David Riley said in London, "The unwinding of the imbalances that led to the [European] crisis is well underway and the headwinds ... should begin to ease toward the end of the year." Mr Riley also said France's triple-A rating is not likely to be lowered.
Unofficially kicking off the US reporting season the parent of Australia’s Alcoa (ASX:AAI), Alcoa Incorporated (NYSE:AA) posted a better than expected fourth quarter result. Despite recording a $US191 million net loss the aluminium giant forecast global aluminium demand to rise 7 per cent in 2012.
Figures
Wall Street ended stronger on Tuesday: The Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 70 points to close at 12,462, the S&P500 gained 11 points to
close at 1,292 and the Nasdaq put on 26 points to close at 2,703.
European markets finished higher: London’s FTSE was up 84 points, Paris was up 83 points and Frankfurt was up 146 points.
Asian markets also closed stronger yesterday: Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was up 139 points, Tokyo Nikkei was up 32 and China’s Shanghai Composite was up 60.
The Australian share market rose throughout the day to end 1.14 per cent higher on Tuesday. The S&P/ASX 200 Index lifted 47 points to finish at 4,152. On the futures market the SPI is now 26 points higher.
Currencies
The Australian Dollar at 8:45AM was buying $US1.0317 cents, 66.63 Pence Sterling, 79.32 Yen and 80.77 Euro cents.
Economic news
Due out today from the Australian Bureau of Statistics is jobs vacancies data from the three months to the end of November 2011.
Company news
Shares in Murchison Metals Limited (ASX:MMX) rose 1.23 per cent yesterday, finishing at $0.41. Murchison Metals’ Jack Hills expansion project has scored environmental approval from the Western Australian state government. The project is owned by Murchison’s 50 per cent owned Crosslands Resources, which Murchison has agreed to sell along with its 50 per cent stake in the Oakajee Port & Rail project for $325 million. Shareholders will get a chance to vote on the proposed sale deal on February 13, 2011. In the 2011 financial year Murchison reported a net loss of $16.5 million.
Shares in VDM Group Limited (ASX:VMG) gained 2.13 per cent on Tuesday, closing at $0.048. The design and construction company has won another contract from global miner BHP Billiton Limited (ASX:BHP) valued at $25.2 million. The contract is for the design and construction of BHP’s ammonium nitrate storage facility in the Pilbara region of Western Australia and is due to be completed by the end of 2012. VDM scored $30.6 million in BHP contracts in November last year and says the latest contract takes the total value of work won by the company in the financial year to more than $150 million. In the 2011 financial year VDM Group reported a net loss of $35.5 million.
Commodities
Gold is up $23.40 to $US1,631 an ounce for the February contract on Comex.
Silver is up $1.03 to $29.82 for March.
Copper is up $0.10 at $3.51 a pound.
Oil is up $0.93 at $102.24 a barrel for February light crude in New York.
