Buoyed by positive European and US leads the Australian share market looks to lift this morning ahead of results from major miners BHP Billiton Limited
(ASX:BHP) and Fortescue Metals Group Limited
(ASX:FMG) and energy giant Woodside Petroleum Limited
(ASX:WPL). Overnight investors were encouraged by an upbeat German investor confidence report and merger talks on Wall Street.
Figures
Returning from the President’s Day public holiday on Monday the Dow and S&P ended at new five-year highs: The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 54 points to end at 14,036, the S&P 500 added 11 points to end at 1,531 and the NASDAQ added 22 points to end at 3,214.
European markets rose on Tuesday: London’s FTSE added 61 points, Paris added 69 points and Frankfurt added 124 points.
Asian markets ended lower on Tuesday: Hong Kong’s Hang Seng lost 238 points, Tokyo’s Nikkei lost 36 points and China’s Shanghai Composite lost 39 points.
The Australian share market gained 0.4 per cent on Tuesday, finishing at a fresh 54 month high: The S&P/ASX 200 Index gained 19 points to close at 5,082. On the futures market the SPI is 16 points higher.
Currencies
The Australian Dollar at 8:20AM was buying $US1.035 cents, 67.14 Pence Sterling, 96.88 Yen and 77.37 Euro cents.
Economic news due out today The Australian Bureau of Statistics: Wage price index for December
Westpac Banking Corporation
(ASX:WBC)-Melbourne Institute: Leading Indexes of Economic Activity
Company news All eyes will be on Australia’s largest mining company BHP Billiton Limited
(ASX:BHP) when it releases its first half earnings results today. Analysts are tipping the global miner could be set to book its third straight profit fall, dragged down by the hit to iron ore prices last year. BHP’s interim net profit is expected to come in at about $5.5 billion, excluding exceptional items, which would represent a 43 per cent drop from the year before. Shares in BHP Billiton rose 0.85 per cent on Tuesday, ending at $39.00.
Calibre Group Limited’s
(ASX:CGH) first half net profit has grown 12.3 per cent to $18.75 million on the back of continued workflow from Western Australia. The engineering services company says it is well-placed to navigate current conditions and maintain continued strong growth this year and beyond. An interim dividend of 5.8 cents per share has been declared. Shares in Calibre Group closed steady at $1.50 on Tuesday.
Ex-dividends today
OZ Minerals Limited
(ASX:OZL) with a 20 cent unfranked dividend
Ex-dividends tomorrow
Ansell Limited
(ASX:ANN) with a 16 cent unfranked dividend
Bendigo and Adelaide Bank Limited
(ASX:BEN) with a 30 cent fully franked dividend
Cochlear Limited
(ASX:COH) with a $1.25 dividend, 40 per cent franked
CVC Limited
(ASX:CVC) with a 2 cent fully franked dividend
Korvest Limited
(ASX:KOV) with a 26 cent fully franked dividend
Mincor Resources NL
(ASX:MCR) with a 2 cent fully franked dividend
Commodities
Gold is down $5.30 to $US1,605 an ounce for the April contract on Comex.
Silver is down $0.43 to $29.42 for March.
Copper is down $0.09 at $3.65 a pound.
Oil is up $0.80 at US$96.66 a barrel for March light crude in New York.
