Outlook: Aus shares eye optimistic start

Market Reports

The Australian share market looks to be eyeing a positive start to the week after China cut bank reserve requirements and global markets closed higher at the end of last week amid optimism over the outcome of Greece’s bailout negotiations. Finance ministers from the 17-member eurozone are due to meet this evening to vote on a second bailout for the debt-laden nation.
 
US economic news

The government's key measure of inflation has shown a moderate pick up at the beginning of this year. According to the Labor Department, the Consumer Price Index increased 0.2 per cent in January, coming in slightly below expectations for an increase of 0.3 per cent.
 
The Conference Board's Leading Economic Indicators index increased 0.4 per cent in January, posting its fourth straight month of gains but coming in less than the 0.5 per cent increase expected.
 
Figures

Ahead of President’s Day public holiday in the US today Wall Street closed mixed on Friday: The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 46 points to close at 12,950, the S&P500 added 3 points to close at 1,361 and the Nasdaq lost 8 points to close at 2,952.

European markets finished higher at the end of last week: London’s FTSE added 20 points, Paris added 46 points and Frankfurt added 96 points.
 
Asian markets finished higher on Friday: Hong Kong’s Hang Seng added 214 points, Tokyo Nikkei added 146 and China’s Shanghai Composite added 0.32 points.
 
The Australian share market closed 0.3 per cent higher on Friday but lower for the third straight week: On Friday the S&P/ASX 200 Index gained 14 points to finish at 4,196. On the futures market the SPI is now 6 points higher.  
 
Currencies

The Australian Dollar at 8:30AM was buying $US1.0782 cents, 68.04 Pence Sterling, 85.87 Yen and 81.79 Euro cents.
 
Economic news due out today

Australian Bureau of Statistics: International merchandise imports for January 2012

Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX:CBA): Business sales indicators for January 2012
 
Company news

Shares in Monadelphous Group Limited (ASX:MND) rose 1.66 per cent on Friday, closing at $22.65. That was on the same day the engineering group said it had entered into two milestone framework agreements with Rio Tinto Limited (ASX:RIO). The agreements give Monadelphous preferred contractor status for a program of structural, mechanical and piping work and a program of electrical and instrumentation work over the next five years. Work under the agreements will be part of the major expansion of Rio's iron ore operations in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, to a capacity of up to 353 million tonnes per annum by 2015. In the 2011 financial year Monadelphous reported a net profit of $95 million.

Shares in Patties Foods Limited (ASX:PFL) fell 1.23 per cent on Friday, closing at $1.60. Frozen foods manufacturer Patties Foods increased its first half net profit by 11 per cent to $10.8 million, but has says it remains cautious about the second half. The company’s first half revenue rose 6.8 per cent while EBITDA grew 9.1 per cent. Patties expects an improvement in its second half earnings on the back of new product developments and launches. 

Ex-dividends

Four companies are going ex-dividend today: Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX:CBA) with a fully franked interim dividend of $1.37, Korvest Limited (ASX:KOV) with a 23 cent fully franked dividend, OZ Minerals Limited (ASX:OZL) with a 30 cent unfranked dividend and Telstra Corporation Limited (ASX:TLS) with a 14 cent fully franked interim dividend.

Commodities

Gold is down $2.50 to $US1,726 an ounce for the April contract on Comex.
Silver is down $0.605 to $33.22 for March.
Copper is down $0.09 at $3.71 a pound.
Oil is up $0.93 at $103.24 a barrel for March light crude in New York.


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