The Australian share market is tipped to push higher today after Wall Street soared to record highs on Friday, digesting solid corporate earnings and an indication from the US Federal Reserve it’s stepping up its monitoring of its too big to fail companies.
Figures
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 36 points to close at 15,118, the S&P500 added 7 points to close at 1,634 and the Nasdaq finished up 27 points at 3,437.
European markets were also in positive territory: London’s FTSE gained 32 points, Paris added 25 points and Frankfurt gained 16 points.
Asian markets were all higher: Hong Kong’s Hang Seng added 110 points, Tokyo’s Nikkei added 416 to close at a 5-and-a-half-year-high and China’s Shanghai Composite added 14 points.
The Australian share market closed above the key 5,200 psychological barrier on Friday. The S&P/ASX 200 index added 8 points, extending the weekly gain of 77 points to finish at a five-year-high of 5,206.
On the futures market the SPI is 9 points higher.
Currencies
The Australian Dollar at 7:20AM is a parity with the US dollar after a weekend article in The Wall Street Journal convinced traders to buy the greenback., 65.18 Pence Sterling, 101.82 Yen and 77.13 Euro cents.
Economic news
The Australian Bureau of Statistics will today release its housing finance data. NAB will put out its business confidence survey and business conditions figures.
Company news
The NSW gaming regulator has given James Packer's Crown Limited
(ASX:CWN) the go-ahead to increase its shares in rival Echo Entertainment Group Limited
(ASX:EGP). But NSW's Independent Liquor and Gaming Authority has limited Crown's investment to a maximum of 23 per cent holding, just shy of the 25 per cent share Crown requested. Shares in Echo Entertainment closed down 1.91 per cent on Friday at $3.60.
Oil Search Limited
(ASX:OSH) is weighing its options ahead of the completion of its flagship project in Papua New Guinea. Chief executive Peter Botten says the company is considering establishing a stand-alone LNG project in Papua New Guinea as well as looking at other oil-producing opportunities. Shares in Oil Search closed 0.76 per cent lower on Friday at $7.80.
Ex-dividend
BT Investment Management Limited
(ASX:BTT) will pay 8 cents per share fully franked
Buderim Ginger Limited
(ASX:BUG) will pay 3 cents per share unfranked
Freedom Foods Group Limited
(ASX:FNP) will pay 1 cent per share fully franked
Macquarie Group Limited
(ASX:MQG) will pay $1.25 partially franked
Panoramic Resources Limited
(ASX:PAN) will pay 1 cent per share fully franked
Westpac Banking Corp
(ASX:WBC) will pay 96 cents per share fully franked
Commodities
Gold is down $32 to $US1,436.60 an ounce for the June contract on Comex. Silver is down $0.25 to $23.66 for July. Copper is up $0.01 at $3.35 a pound. Oil is down $0.35 at US$96.04 a barrel for June light crude in New York.
