Following positive leads, from the US at week’s end, the Australian share market looks set to open higher.
Figures The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished up 91 points at 14,512. The S&P 500 increased 11 points to close at 1,557 and the Nasdaq added 22 points to finish at 3,245.
European markets closed mixed: London’s FTSE gained 4 points, Paris lost 5 points and Frankfurt lost shed 21 points.
Asian markets also closed mixed. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng lost 111 points, Tokyo’s Nikkei fell 297 and China’s Shanghai Composite added 4 points.
The Australian share market closed higheron Friday. The S&P/ASX200 index was up 8, at 4,967 points, and down 3 on the trading week. Right now on the futures market the SPI is 24 points higher.
Currencies The Australian Dollar at 7:20 AM was buying $US1.04 cents, 68.61 Pence Sterling, 98.69 Yen and 80.67 Euro cents.
Company news Construction giant Leighton Holdings has announced a new company chairman, Bob Humphris. A director for the past decade, Mr Humphris replaces Stephen Johns, who, along with two non-executive directors, tendered their resignations, last week. Shares in Leighton Holdings fell 6.91 per cent to finish at $20.20 on Friday.
Telstra boss David Thodey has promised investors that delays to the NBN rollout will not endanger their dividends. The message, to 1.4 million retail shareholders, comes after business analysts warned 60 per cent of Telstra’s revenue growth is at stake if NBN delays continue. Shares in Telstra closed 0.22 per cent weaker on Friday at $4.53.
To ex-dividends Altium Limited
(ASX:ALU)AP Eagers Limited
(ASX:APE)G8 Education Ltd
(ASX:GEM)Lycopodium Limited
(ASX:LYL).
CommoditiesGold is down $7.70 to $US1,606 an ounce for the April contract on Comex.
Silver is down $0.51 to $28.70 for May.
Copper is up $0.03 at $3.47 a pound
Oil is up $1.26 at US$93.71 a barrel for May light crude in New York.
