Outlook: Aus shares to inch higher

Market Reports

The Australian share market is set to tick slightly higher after US stocks had a subdued session on a mixed bag of earnings reports and ahead of key jobs data due out later this week.
 
Haliburton’s third-quarter revenue fell shy of expectations and McDonald's provided a downbeat outlook for October same-store sales.
 
But investors are set to focus on economic data, as the releases that were postponed during the 16-day government shutdown are put out. Tomorrow morning local time, the US government will release the September employment report, originally scheduled for Oct. 2. The data is seen as a crucial factor in the Federal Reserve's decision about when it will start paring its stimulus efforts.

Currencies
 
The Australian dollar is slightly lower as markets wait for that release of the US employment data. At 8:10AM the Aussie was buying $US96.57 cents, 59.84 Pence Sterling, 94.86 Yen and 70.61 Euro cents.
 
Figures

Wall Street had a mixed session: The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 7 points to close at 15,392, the S&P 500 was flat at 1,745 and the NASDAQ added 6 points to close at 3,920.
 
European markets mostly nudged higher, including the UK's FTSE 100, which rose 0.5 per cent after a survey showed that Britons were more optimistic about their finances in October than they have been on average over the past four years. London’s FTSE lifted 32 points, Paris dropped 9 points and Frankfurt gained 2 points.
 
Asian markets rallied, with Chinese stocks leading the way, after the State Council said the economy was on track to meet its growth targets.Tokyo’s Nikkei added 132 points, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng jumped 98 points, and China’s Shanghai Composite lifted by 35 points.
 
The Australian share market started the week on solid footing, lifting 0.6 per cent yesterday.
The S&P/ASX 200 index rallied 30 points to close the first day of the trading week at 5,352. On the futures market the SPI is 10 points higher. 
 
Company news
 
BHP Billiton Limited (ASX:BHP) is set to reveal it shipped about $500 million more worth of iron ore than analysts were expecting in the September quarter, when it releases its quarterly production report today. According to indications from port statistics, BHP is expected to reveal iron ore shipments of about 54 million tonnes, which is up from previous analyst expectations of 50 million tonnes. Shares in BHP lifted 1.26 per cent yesterday to close at $36.20. 
 
Southern Cross Media Group Limited (ASX:SXL) will hold its AGM in Melbourne today. Shareholders will be watching for any news on reports the company is in negotiations to refinance its debt to the tune of $725 million. Shares in Southern Cross Media lifted 0.54 per cent yesterday to close at $1.87.
 
Commodities

Crude oil prices hit a three-month low point as dealers reacted to delayed US economic data. Traders reacted to official data showing that US crude inventories grew by 4 million barrels in the week to October 11. The data had been due last week but was pushed back due to the US government shut- down. Oil is down $1.59 at US$99.22 a barrel for November light crude in New York.

Gold is up $1.20 to $US1,316 an ounce for the December contract on Comex. Silver is up $0.32 to $22.23 for December. Copper is flat at $3.30 a pound. 

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