The Australian share market is set to advance at the open after US stocks rallied on bets that the Federal Reserve won’t deliver any nasty surprises and stay firm on its economic stimulus policy.
The Federal Reserve's policy panel is now on day two of its meeting, with Chairman Ben Bernanke expected to give a policy statement and news conference tomorrow morning Australian-time.
While investors have speculated the Fed may soon pull-back on its $US85 billion-a-month bond-buying program, the market is now pricing Mr Bernanke won’t hint at tapering anytime soon.
And there’s talk this morning the content of Mr Bernanke’s speech may prompt currency analysts to revise their end-of-year forecasts for the Australian dollar.
Currencies
The Australian dollar held steady overnight, hovering just below the 95 US cent mark. At 7:20AM the Aussie was buying $US94.85 cents, 60.66 Pence Sterling, 90.47 Yen and 70.83 Euro cents.
Figures
The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 138 points to close at 15,318, the S&P 500 added 13 points to close at 1,652 and the NASDAQ gained 30 points to close at 3,482.
European markets were mixed: London’s FTSE added 44 points, Paris lost 3 points and Frankfurt added 14 points.
Asian markets followed suit: Tokyo’s Nikkei was down 26 points, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was flat, and China’s Shanghai Composite added 9 points.
The Australian share market closed marginally lower after a late session recovery yesterday.
The S&P/ASX 200 index closed 12 points down to finish at 4,814. On the futures market the SPI is 35 points up.
Economic news
The Australian Bureau of Statistics will release its international merchandise imports figures for May and the Westpac-Melbourne Institute will put out its Economic Activity Index
Company news
Leighton Holdings Limited
(ASX:LEI) has appointed three new board members to replace the directors that resigned due to a rift with the company's major shareholder, Hochtief. Russell Higgins, the former head of the department of industry, science and resources, civil engineer Mike Hutchinson and labour market expert Vickki McFadden will join Leighton as non-executive directors immediately. Leighton’s announcement came after the close, but shares finished down 1.7 per cent yesterday at $15.62.
Seven West Media Limited
(ASX:SWM) share trading activity has been questioned, with a complaint has been lodged with ASIC alleging unusual trading in the lead-up to KKR selling its 12 per cent stake in the company, according to media reports. Short selling positions in Seven West stock reportedly rose sharply in the three days leading up to the announcement of KKR's sale on May 21, followed by a two-day, 11 per cent drop. But there is no suggestion in the complaint that Seven West or KKR were involved in the matter. Shares in Seven West Media closed 2.8 per cent higher yesterday at $2.01.
Commodities
Gold is down $16.20 to $US1,367 an ounce for the August contract on Comex. Silver is down $0.08 to $21.68 for July. Copper is down $0.04 at $3.16 a pound. Oil is up $0.67 at $US98.44 a barrel for July light crude in New York.
