The Australian share market looks set to slip in early trade after Wall Street fell on subdued economic data and Europe showed signs of life.
US economic news
US producer price figures showed flat prices in July, indicating to some analysts the economy may not be gathering steam.
Europe economic news
But Eurozone data showed that the economy grew 0.3 per cent in the three months to June, exiting an 18-month recession.The data also showed that Germany grew 0.7 per cent and France expanded at 0.5 per cent, beating forecasts..
Currencies
The Australian dollar inched higher in early trade, helped by that good news from eurozone. At 7:25AM the Aussie was buying $US91.27 cents, 58.9 Pence Sterling, 89.56 Yen and 68.88 Euro cents.
Figures
Wall Street was in the red: The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 113 points to close at 15,338, the S&P 500 dropped 9 points to close at 1,685 and the NASDAQ fell 15 points to close at 3,669.
European markets were mixed: London’s FTSE lost 25 points, Paris added 22 points and Frankfurt gained 22 points.
Asian markets were mostly higher: Tokyo’s Nikkei added 183 points, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng lifted by 270 points, and China’s Shanghai Composite dipped by 6 points.
The Australian share market finished the trading day flat as the market digested a raft of earnings reports. The S&P/ASX 200 index closed 0.3 points down to finish at 5,157. On the futures market the SPI is 11 points down.
Economic news
The Australian Bureau of Statistics will release its average weekly earnings data for the six months to May.
Company news
Wesfarmers Limited
(ASX:WES) is the biggest company reporting its full year results today as earnings season picks up the pace. Wesfarmers posted a net profit of $2.1 billion in the 2012 financial year and announced 4.7 per cent growth in sales across its supermarket business in the first half. Shares in Wesfarmers lifted 1.33 per cent yesterday to close at $41.93.
AMP Limited
(ASX:AMP) will post its first half earnings today, after warning last month that losses in its Australian wealth protection business would likely impact the result. In June, AMP said it’s expecting underlying profit for the first half to be within the range of $415 million and $435 million. Shares in AMP lifted 0.22 per cent to close at $4.54.
Ex-dividend
Argo Investments Limited
(ASX:ARG) will pay 13.5 cents per share fully franked
GPT Group
(ASX:GPT) will pay 5 cents per share unfranked
Milton Corporation Limited
(ASX:MLT) will pay 45.5 cents per share fully franked
Commodities
Gold is up $12.90 to $US1,333 an ounce for the December contract on Comex. Silver is up $0.44 to $21.79 for September. Copper is up $0.02 at $3.34 a pound. Oil is up $0.02 at US$106.85 a barrel for September light crude in New York.
