Local stocks are in for a positive start to the final trading day of the month, thanks to a strong Wall Street session. US markets were buoyed by an upbeat assessment of Government stimulus efforts, from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke.
FiguresThe Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 175 points to close at 14,075, the S&P 500 added 19 points to close at 1,516 and the NASDAQ put on 33 points to close at 3,162.
European markets rose on signs of improvement in the Eurozone debt-crisis. London’s FTSE added 55 points, Paris put on 70 points and Frankfurt gained 79 points.
Asian markets ended mixed. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng added 57 points, Tokyo’s Nikkei shed 145 and China’s Shanghai Composite added 20 points.
The Australian share market closed higher yesterday. The S&P/ASX 200 Index closed 33 points firmer at 5,037. On the futures market the SPI is 41 points firmer.
Currencies The Australian Dollar at 8:20AM was buying $US1.023 cents, 67.5 Pence Sterling, 94.34 Yen and 77.87 Euro cents.
Economic news due out today The Australian bureau of statistics will release capital expenditure data for last three months of 2012. A string of company earnings results are also due, including Woolworths and Harvey Norman.
Company News National Australia Banks’
(ASX:NAB) cost cutting strategy may see all remaining individual business units, such as IT and Marketing, centralized in an effort to curb costs and bolster profits. NAB shares finished the day 0.27% firmer at $30.03.
Investors have been told the Australian Securities exchange ( ASX:ASX) will extend its trading hours to 6pm in the event of another systems meltdown bringing the local share market to a standstill. ASX shares closed 0.53% firmer yesterday at $35.96.
CommoditiesGold is down $19.80 to $US1,596 an ounce for the April contract on Comex. Silver is down $0.32 to $28.94 for March. Copper is down 2 cents at $3.55 a pound. Oil is up 13 cents at US$92.76 a barrel for April light crude in New York.
Ex-dividends today Carlton Investments Limited (ASX:CIN) with a 34 cent fully franked dividend Contango MicroCap Limited
(ASX:CTN) with a 3.8 cent dividend, 20 per cent franked
Century Australia Investments Limited
(ASX:CYA) with a 1.4 cent dividend, fully franked
Emerging Leaders Investment Limited
(ASX:ELI) with a 3.5 cent fully franked dividend
Fairfax Media Limited
(ASX:FXJ) with a 1 cent fully franked dividend
Insurance Australia Group Limited
(ASX:IAG) with an 11 cent fully franked dividend
Infomedia Limited
(ASX:IFM) with a 1.27 cent dividend, 29.37 per cent franked
Integrated Research Limited
(ASX:IRI) with a 2 cent dividend, 30 per cent franked
LogiCamms Limited
(ASX:LCM) with a 4.5 cent fully franked dividend
REA Group Limited
(ASX:REA) with a 16 cent fully franked dividend
Run Corp Limited
(ASX:RNC) with a 0.4 cent fully franked dividend
Sonic Healthcare Limited
(ASX:SHL) with a 25 cent dividend, 45 per cent franked
Sonic Healthcare Limited
(ASX:SHL) with a 5.25 cent unfranked dividend
Trafalgar Corporate Group
(ASX:TGP) with a 4 cent unfranked dividend
Treasury Group Limited
(ASX:TRG) with a 167cent fully franked dividend
Village Roadshow Limited
(ASX:VRL) with a 13 cent fully franked dividend
