The Australian share market is set to dip in early trade, despite gains on Wall Street following upbeat economic data.
US investors relaxed a little as fears of imminent military action against Syria receded.
US economic news
There was also positive economic news as US second-quarter economic growth was upgraded to come in at an annual rate of 2.5 per cent. That was faster than the original estimate of 1.7 per cent.
Currencies
That news pushed the Australian dollar lower amid expectations the US Federal Reserve will scale back its stimulus program in the coming months. At 7:30AM the Aussie was buying $US89.18 cents, 57.56 Pence Sterling, 87.66 Yen and 67.4 Euro cents.
Figures
Wall Street regained ground overnight: The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 16 points to close at 14,841, the S&P 500 lifted by 3 points to close at 1,638 and the NASDAQ gained 27 points to close at 3,620.
European markets followed suit: London’s FTSE jumped 53 points, Paris added 26 points and Frankfurt gained 37 points.
Asian markets were mostly higher: Tokyo’s Nikkei added 121 points, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng soared by 180 points, and China’s Shanghai Composite lost 4 points.
The Australian share market clawed back its early losses in afternoon trade yesterday, led by a strong rally in Qantas shares, which soared more than 13 per cent after swinging to profit. The S&P/ASX 200 index closed 5 points up to finish at 5,092. On the futures market the SPI is 10 points down.
Economic news
The Reserve Bank of Australia is due to release financial aggregates data today
Company news
Virgin Australia Holdings Limited
(ASX:VAH) will release its full year results today, with profits tipped to nosedive. Earlier this month Virgin shocked the market with a significant profit downgrade, blaming a weak economy and the carbon tax. The airline is forecasting a net loss of between $95 and $110 million. Shares in Virgin lifted 3.85 per cent yesterday to close at 40.5 cents.
Harvey Norman Holdings Limited
(ASX:HVN) will also deliver its full year earnings report today. The update comes after the company posted a slight lift in third quarter sales. Shares in Harvey Norman closed flat yesterday at $2.88.
Ex-dividend
Commodities
Gold is down $5.90 to $US1,413 an ounce for the December contract on Comex. Silver is down $0.30 to $23.09 for September. Copper is down $0.06 at $3.24 a pound. Oil is down $1.30 at US$108.80 a barrel for October light crude in New York.
