The Australian share market is tipped to climb higher in early trade after US stocks made modest gains as investors weighed solid earnings news against disappointing retail sales data.
US economic news
A slower-than-expected pace of growth for retail sales in June triggered worries that the second quarter's economic lull could continue into the third.
Retails sales grew 0.4 per cent compared to May, with the gains coming from car sales, while other sectors slumped.
Currencies
Those figures sent the Australian dollar higher against a weaker greenback.At 7:20AM the Aussie was buying $US91.03 cents, 60.3 Pence Sterling, 90.94 Yen and 69.69 Euro cents.
Figures
Wall Street pushed marginally higher: The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 20 points to close at 15,484, the S&P 500 gained 2 points to close at 1,683 and the NASDAQ rose by 7 points to close at 3,607.
European markets followed suit: London’s FTSE jumped 41 points, Paris gained 23 points and Frankfurt added 22 points.
Asian markets were also in positive territory: Tokyo’s Nikkei added 34 points, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose by 26 points, and China’s Shanghai Composite gained 20 points.
The Australian share market closed flat yesterday after trading in a narrow range for the majority of the session as investors digested China’s latest economic growth figures. The S&P/ASX 200 index closed 7 points up to finish at 4,981.
On the futures market the SPI is trading 18 points higher.
Economic news
In economic news out today the RBA will release the minutes of its monthly board meeting earlier this month.
Company news
Rio Tinto Limited
(ASX:RIO) will release its second quarter operations review. FNN will bring you that update when we have it. Shares in Rio were basically flat yesterday at $54.77.
Newcrest Mining Limited
(ASX:NCM) is facing the possibility of a second class action lawsuit over the company's disclosure practices as Slater & Gordon considers pursuing legal action, according to media reports.The miner has faced accusations that it selectively briefed analysts over its shift in strategy to lower cost production as well as $6 billion in writedowns. Shares in Newcrest Mining fell 3.8 per cent yesterday to close at $11.63.
Charter Hall Group
(ASX:CHC) has sold the Home head office in Nunawading, Melbourne for $48 million to a private investor. It's managed fund, Charter Hall Retail, had a half stake in the property and will use the funds to repay $27.5 million in debt, while $10 million will be reinvested into shopping centres. Shares in Charter Hall were flat yesterday, closing at $3.93.
Commodities
Gold pushed higher on hedge fund buying. It was up $5.90 to $US1,283.50 an ounce for the August contract on Comex. Silver is up $0.05 to $19.84 for September. Copper is down $0.01 at $3.14 a pound. Oil is up $0.37 at US$106.32 a barrel for August light crude in New York.
