The Australian share market looks poised for a soft start to the day after Wall Street closed barely changed following mixed economic figures. Locally the reporting season continues with full year results expected from a number of companies including ASX Limited
(ASX:ASX), Brambles Limited
(ASX:BXB), Dexus Property Group ASX:DXS), Goodman Group
(ASX:GMG), iiNet Limited
(ASX:IIN) and Wesfarmers Limited
(ASX:WES).
Figures
Wall Street ended mixed on Wednesday: The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 7 points to close at 13,165, the S&P500 added 2 points to close at 1,406 and the Nasdaq added 14 points to close at 3,031.
European markets finished lower on Wednesday: London’s FTSE lost 32 points, Paris lost 1 point and Frankfurt lost 28 points.
Asian markets ended lower on Wednesday: Hong Kong’s Hang Seng lost 239 points, Tokyo’s Nikkei lost 5 and China’s Shanghai Composite lost 24 points.
The Australian share market closed 0.3 per cent lower on Tuesday: The S&P/ASX 200 Index dipped 11 points to finish at 4,281. On the futures market the SPI is 5 points higher.
Currencies
The Australian Dollar at 7:15AM was buying $US1.051 cents, 67.02 Pence Sterling, 82.96 Yen and 85.52 Euro cents.
Economic news due out today
Australian Bureau of Statistics: Average weekly time earnings for the three months to May
Melbourne Institute: Consumer inflation expectations for August
Company news OrotonGroup Limited
(ASX:ORL) has entered into a trading halt ahead of making an announcement on its licence deal with Ralph Lauren. The accessories brand is expected to disclose details on the status of extending the licence with the American designer beyond next year before the end of the week. Shares in OrotonGroup finished 0.52 per cent higher at $7.74, before being placed into a trading halt on Wednesday.
Shares in Forge Group Limited
(ASX:FGE) firmed yesterday after the engineering and construction company said it had increased its net profit by 24 per cent to $70 million in fiscal 2012. CEO David Simpson says Forge has a very healthy pipeline of work and a very strong order book of about $900 million underpinning the company's positive outlook for the year ahead. Shares in Forge Group firmed 2.42 per cent on Wednesday to close at $4.65.
Ex-dividends GPT Group
(ASX:GPT): 4.9 cent unfranked interim dividend
Reckon Limited
(ASX:RKN): 3.75 cent interim dividend, 90 per cent franked
Tabcorp Holdings Limited
(ASX:TAH): 11 cent fully franked final dividend
Commodities
Gold is up $4.20 to $US1,606 an ounce for the December contract on Comex.
Silver is up $0.05 to $27.81 for September.
Copper is down $0.01 at $3.35 a pound.
Oil is up $0.90 at $US94.33 a barrel for September light crude in New York.
