The Australian share market is set to open the week higher after the S&P 500 finished the week at five year highs and as US lawmakers signed a budget deal to avoid the country’s so called fiscal cliff.
US economic news
The unemployment rate remained steady in December at 7.8 per cent according to the Labor Department . Payrolls excluding farm jobs, grew by 155,000 last month giving hope of a recovery in the labor market.
Figures
Wall Street closed up on Friday: The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 44 points to close at 13,435, the S&P500 added 7 points to close at 1,466 and the Nasdaq was up by 1 point to close at 3,102.
European markets closed up: London’s FTSE gained 43 points, Paris added 9 and Frankfurt gained 20 points.
Asian markets closed mixed: Hong Kong’s Hang Seng lost 68 points, Tokyo’s Nikkei added 293 and China’s Shanghai Composite gained 8 points.
The Australian share market closed lower on Friday: The S&P/ASX 200 Index closed 17 points down to finish at 4,724 but was 53 points higher over the week. On the futures market the SPI is 18 points up.
Currencies
The Australian Dollar at 8:30AM was buying $US1.047, 65.19 Pence Sterling, 92.33 Yen and 80.12 Euro cents.
Company news Fortescue Metals Group Limited
(ASX:FMG) has exceeded its production rate target at its Herb Elliott Port Facility in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. The iron ore producer has achieved a 100 million tonne annualised run rate in December. Fortescue had announced a production rate of 95 million tonnes by the end of 2012. The company says the increase was a result of a number of factors including the ramp up of the second ore processing facility at the Christmas Creek mine and the opening of the Fortescue Hamersley rail line. Shares in Fortescue closed 3.57 per cent down on Friday at $4.86.
Specialty Fashion Group Limited
(ASX:SFH) has agreed to exit its Australian licence for lingerie brand La Senza as it struggled to secure a market in Australia. The company says the impact to its EBITDA will not be significant and will not incur penalties. Specialty Fashion Group retails women’s fashion in Australasia through brands such as Millers and Katies. Shares in Specialty Fashion Group closed 1.54 per cent up on Friday at $0.66.
Ex-dividends Two companies are going ex-dividend today:
Clime Capital Limited
(ASX:CAM) 1 cent fully franked dividend
GPT Group
(ASX:GPT) with a 5 cent unfranked dividend.
Commodities
Gold is down $25.70 to $US1,649 an ounce for the February contract on Comex. Silver is down $0.77 to $29.95 for March. Copper is down $0.02 at $3.69 a pound. Oil is up $0.17 at US$93.09 a barrel for February light crude in New York.
