The Australian share market looks to edge higher in morning trade after European leaders agreed to grant Greece an extra two years to meet its bailout requirements. However gains could be tempered after Wall Street dipped amid ongoing concerns about the imminent fiscal cliff deadline approaching at the end of this year.
Figures
Wall Street pulled back to end in the red on Tuesday: The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 59 point to close at 12,756, the S&P500 lost 6 points to close at 1,375 and the Nasdaq lost 20 points to close at 2,884.
European markets ended higher on Tuesday: London’s FTSE added 19 points, Paris added 19 points and Frankfurt closed steady.
Asian markets closed lower on Tuesday: Hong Kong’s Hang Seng lost 242 points, Tokyo’s Nikkei lost 15 and China’s Shanghai Composite lost 31 points.
The Australian share mark shed 1.5 per cent yesterday, dropping to a seven week low: The S&P/ASX 200 Index shed 68 points on Tuesday to finish at 4,380. On the futures market the SPI is now 12 points higher.
Currencies
The Australian Dollar at 8:15AM was buying $US1.043 cents, 65.75 Pence Sterling, 82.81 Yen and 82.11 Euro cents.
Economic news due out today Australian Bureau of Statistics: Wage price index for the September quarter
Westpac Banking Corporation
(ASX:WBC)-Melbourne Institute: Survey of Consumer Sentiment
Company news Westpac Banking Corporation’s
(ASX:WBC) CEO Gail Kelly took home more than $9.5 million in the last financial year, a 3 per cent pay cut from the year before. In the same period Westpac’s net profit dropped 15 per cent while its cash profit rose 5 per cent to a record $6.6 billion. The bank’s annual report has reveals top executives will effectively have their pay frozen in the current financial year amid the challenges of delivering sustainable performance in a low growth environment. Shares in Westpac Banking Corporation fell 2.17 per cent on Tuesday, closing at $24.80.
As news of Ten Network Holdings Limited’s
(ASX:TEN) latest high profile job cuts hit the headlines the media company has conceded its ratings and revenue performance have not met expectations. Chairman and shareholder Lachlan Murdoch has acknowledged the unacceptable performance of Ten’s programming schedule last financial year but says the company has changed over the past 12 months and is looking forward to the year ahead. Ten’s annual report has not provided earnings guidance but instead affirmed costs are under strict control. Shares in Ten Network Holdings dropped 1.79 per cent on Tuesday, closing at $0.275.
Ex-dividends today
ResMed Inc.
(ASX:RMD) with a 1.39 cent unfranked dividend
Skywest Airlines Limited
(ASX:SXR) with a 1.02 cent unfranked dividend
Ex-dividends this week
Bank of Queensland Limited
(ASX:BOQ) with a 26 cent fully franked dividend
Atlas Iron Limited
(ASX:AGO) with a 3 cent unfranked dividend
Incitec Pivot Limited
(ASX:IPL) with a 9.1 cent dividend, 75 per cent franked
SP AusNet
(ASX:SPN) with a 4.1 cent dividend, franked 33.3 per cent
Commodities
Gold is down $6.10 to $US1,725 an ounce for the December contract on Comex.
Silver is down $0.035 to $32.49 for December.
Copper is up $0.003 at $3.47 a pound.
Oil is down $0.19 at $US85.38 a barrel for December light crude in New York.
