The Australian share market looks set for a weak start to trade, after Wall Street had a second day of losses amid mixed earnings reports and negative sentiment over economic data.
US economic news
The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits rose last week.
According to figures from the US Labor Department, initial claims for state unemployment benefits rose 4,000 to a seasonally adjusted 352,000.
Figures
The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 82 points to close at 14,537, the S&P 500 shed 10 points to close at 1,542 and the NASDAQ lost 38 points to close at 3,166.
European markets closed mixed: London’s FTSE is down by 0.5, Paris gained 0.13 point and Frankfurt lost 29 points.
Asian markets closed mixed: Hong Kong’s Hang Seng lost 57 points, Tokyo’s Nikkei is down by 163 and China’s Shanghai Composite added 4 points.
The Australian share market closed at session lows yesterday - 1.6 per cent down, led down by the Materials sector. The S&P/ASX 200 index closed 80 points down to finish at 4,924.
On the futures market the SPI is 12 points down.
Currencies
The Australian Dollar at 7:15AM was buying $US1.03 cents, 67.43 Pence Sterling, 101.15 Yen and 78.97 Euro cents.
Company news
Rio Tinto Limited
(ASX:RIO) chief executive Sam Walsh says the company will focus on divesting non-core assets as it strives to save $4.8 billion over the next year. Addressing his first annual general meeting as chief executive, Mr Walsh said 2012's capital expenditure of $US17.4 billion will be its peak year of investment. He said the mining company is reviewing a number of non-core assets for divestment, including those already announced such as Pacific Aluminium and Diamonds. Shares in Rio Tinto closed 4.62 per cent down to $52.07.
Australian Agricultural Company Limited
(ASX:AAC) will sell two of its properties in Queensland as the group focuses on assets further north. The cattle producer says it will sell Brighton Downs, a 420,000-hectare station near Winton, which was primarily used for grass feeding cattle. AACo will also sell Adelong, a 5,200-hectare dry land farming and grazing property at Comet. Shares in AACo closed 1.72 per cent higher at $1.18.
Commodities
Gold is up $9.80 to $US1,392.50 an ounce for the June contract on Comex. Silver is down $0.06 to $23.24 for May. Copper is up $0.02 at $3.20 a pound. Oil is up $1.05 at $US87.73 a barrel for May light crude in New York.
