The Australian share market is set to open flat this morning after being closed yesterday, with Wall Street ending lower, despite gains in Europe overnight.
US economic news
New home sales unexpectedly fell 2.2 per cent in December to an annual rate of 307,000, seasonally adjusted. Economists say 700,000 new homes need to be sold to indicate a healthy economy.
Orders for durable goods rose 3 per cent in December thanks to an increase in aircraft orders.
And 377,000 people filed for initial unemployment benefits last week, up 21,000.
The figures
Wall Street ended lower. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 22 points to close at 12,735, the S&P500 lost 8 points to close at 1,318 and the Nasdaq lost 13 points to close at 2,805.
European markets closed higher: London’s FTSE was up 72 points, Paris gained 51 points and Frankfurt gained 118 points.
Asian markets finished mixed: Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was up 329 points, Tokyo’s Nikkei was down 34 and China’s Shanghai Composite was closed.
The Australian share market closed higher on Wednesday: The S&P/ASX 200 Index gained 47 points to finish at 4,271. On the futures market the SPI is now 2 points lower.
Currencies
The Australian Dollar at 8:40AM was buying $US1.0628 cents, 67.75 Pence Sterling, 82.31 Yen and 81.11 Euro cents.
Company news
National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX:NAB) closed 2.02 per cent higher, finishing at $24.20. The bank has injected more than $190 million into its UK division, again. That’s according to The Australian Financial Review. The funds will help close a deficit in the retirement plan for staff at Yorkshire and Clydesdale. It’s been less than two weeks since NAB moved £400 million in capital to the United Kingdom to meet tougher regulatory rules. In the 2011 financial year NAB posted an annual net profit of $5.2 billion.
Myer Holdings Ltd (ASX:MYR) closed 1.47 per cent lower, finishing at $2.01. Myer and and David Jones Ltd (ASX:DJS) want price reductions of up to 40 per cent on apparel, cosmetics, consumer electronics and accessories according to The Australian Financial Review. The department stores are reportedly threatening to find new sources for stock or not offer certain products unless suppliers reduce their prices. The paper says it’s to compete with overseas department stores and online retailers. In the 2011 financial year Myer Holdings posted a net profit of $159.6 million.
Ex-dividends
One company is going ex-dividend today, it’s Djerriwarrh Investments Ltd with a 10 cent fully franked dividend. Coming up on Monday we have Alcoa and Trafalgar Corporate Group.
Commodities
Gold is up $26.60 to $US1,726 an ounce for the February contract on Comex. Silver is up $0.62 to $33.74 for March. Copper is up $0.07 at $3.90 a pound. Oil is up $0.30 at $99.70 a barrel for March light crude in New York.
