Aussie shares are expected to point slightly higher this morning, after US and European markets traded in positive territory overnight, despite the European Central Bank slashing its growth forecasts for the Euro zone.
US economic news
Americans filing for first-time unemployment benefits dropped 25,000 to 370,000 last week for a third straight month, according to the Labor Department.
Figures
Wall Street closed up yesterday: The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 40 points to close at 13,074, the S&P500 added 5 points to close at 1,414 and the Nasdaq gained 16 points to close at 2,989.
European markets closed up : London’s FTSE gained 9 points, Paris added 11 and Frankfurt was up by 80 points.
Asian markets closed mixed: Hong Kong’s Hang Seng shed 21 points, Tokyo’s Nikkei added 76 and China’s Shanghai Composite lost 3 points.
The Australian share market closed lower yesterday: The S&P/ASX 200 Index closed 11 points down to finish at 4,509. On the futures market the SPI is 13 points higher.
Currencies
The Australian Dollar at 8:15AM was buying $US1.048, 65.33 Pence Sterling, 86.37 Yen and 80.84 Euro cents.
Economic news
Australian Bureau of Statistics: International trade in goods and services for October.
The Australian Industry Group/Housing Industry Association: Performance of Construction Index.
Company news Junior gold explorer PMI Gold Corporation
(ASX:PVM) says it will merge with Keegan Resources to create a West African focused development company called Asanko Gold with an expected market capitalization of about $670 million. Both companies currently own West Ghana based assets and have forecast a combined annual production of about 200,000 ounces per annum from 2014. Shares in PMI Gold Corporation closed 7.33 per cent up yesterday at $0.805.
Sydney Airport Holdings Limited
(ASX:SYD) has declared a final unfranked dividend of 10 cents per share. The company recently appointed Stephen Mentzines to the role of Chief Financial Officers and is focused on expanding its aviation capacity into 2045. The airport recently advised its foreign ownership levels expanded above 35 per cent. Shares in Sydney Airport closed flat yesterday at $3.54.
Ex-dividends Sky Network Television Limited
(ASX:SKT) with a 25.2 cent unfranked dividend.
Commodities
Gold is up $8.00 to $US1,702 an ounce for the February contract on Comex. Silver is up $0.16 to $33.11 for March. Copper is down $0.04 at $3.64 a pound. Oil is down $1.62 at US$86.26 a barrel for January light crude in New York.
