Following mixed leads the Australian share market is poised for a soft start. US markets clawed onto positive territory by close amid earnings reports while European stocks started the week in negative territory. At home it will be a quiet day on the economic front as annual general meeting’s continue to dominate company headlines.
Figures
Wall Street started the week slightly higher: On Monday, The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 2 points to close at 13,346, the S&P500 closed flat at 1,434 and the Nasdaq added 11 points to close at 3,017.
European markets started the week in the red: London’s FTSE lost 13 points, Paris lost 21 points and Frankfurt lost 53 points.
Asian markets began the week higher: Hong Kong’s Hang Seng added 146 points, Tokyo’s Nikkei added 8 and China’s Shanghai Composite added 4 points.
The Australian share market pulled back from last week’s highs to start the week 0.7 per cent down: The S&P/ASX 200 Index dropped 30 points on Monday to finish at 4,541. On the futures market the SPI is 1 point higher.
Currencies
The Australian Dollar at 8:15AM was buying $US1.032 cents, 64.49 Pence Sterling, 82.56 Yen and 79.04 Euro cents.
Company news Super Retail Group Limited
(ASX:SUL) says it has made a solid start to the new financial year, posting sales growth in its automotive, sports and leisure businesses. Speaking at the retailer's annual general meeting yesterday, Managing Director Peter Birtles said the company remains confident it can deliver like-for-like sales growth even if retail conditions remain subdued. Shares in Super Retail Group rose 3.94 per cent on Monday, closing at $8.98.
NIB Holdings Limited
(ASX:NHF) says the Federal Government’s plans to cut private health insurance rebates are no surprise given the government’s difficult fiscal predicament. Policy changes announced in the government’s Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook yesterday have proposed to take a knife to the rebates paid to fund members from April 2014. The private health insurance company does not believe the changes will cause premiums to rise and says competition will continue to keep premiums as low as possible. Shares in NIB Holdings dipped 0.83 per cent on Monday, closing at $1.79.
Ex-dividends today
E&A Limited
(ASX:EAL) with a 2 cent fully franked dividend
GPT Group
(ASX:GPT) with a 4.7 cent unfranked dividend
ING Private Equity Access Limited
(ASX:IPE) with a 2.25 cent fully franked dividend
Ex-dividends later this week
Freedom Foods Group Limited
(ASX:FNP) with a 1 cent fully franked dividend
ICSGlobal Limited
(ASX:ICS) with a 0.1 cent, 18.7 per cent franked dividend
Commodities
Gold is down $6.40 to $US1,730 an ounce for the December contract on Comex.
Silver is up $0.37 to $32.47 for December.
Copper is down $0.01 at $3.62 a pound.
Oil is down $1.29 at $US89.15 a barrel for November light crude in New York.
