The Australian share market is tipped for a flat start despite ANZ delivering a bumper full year profit this morning and after US stocks had a lacklustre session on the back of mixed economic data.
US economic news
Industrial production for September rose 0.6 per cent on the month, exceeding expectations of 0.4 per cent growth.
Meanwhile, pending home sales for September fell 5.6 per cent to the lowest levels seen since December. That missed expectations of a 0.5 per cent increase.
But most investors are watching and waiting for the US Federal Reserve’s announcement on Thursday morning local time after its two-day policy meeting. They will be looking for clues on the timing of the winding back of it economic stimulus program.
Currencies
The Australian dollar fell lower as currency traders wait for that announcement in the US. At 8:20AM the Aussie was buying $US95.72 cents, 59.33 Pence Sterling, 93.52 Yen and 69.45 Euro cents.
Figures
Wall Street was mixed: The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 1 point to close at 15,569, the S&P 500 added 2 points to close at 1,762 and the NASDAQ fell 3 points to close at 3,940.
European markets followed suit: London’s FTSE gained 4 points, Paris lost 21 points and Frankfurt dropped 7 points.
Asian markets lifted: Tokyo’s Nikkei added 308 points, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng jumped by 108 points, and China’s Shanghai Composite lifted by 1 point.
The Australian share market closed over 1 per cent stronger yesterday ahead of the big banks reporting season. The S&P/ASX 200 index closed 55 points up to finish at 5,441.On the futures market the SPI is 4 points higher.
Company news
Australia and New Zealand Banking Group
(ASX:ANZ) has posted a strong lift in cash profit this morning. In the year to September 30, ANZ posted a cash profit of $6.49 billion, an 11 per cent increase on the $5.83 billion in the previous year.ANZ will pay a fully-franked final dividend of 91 cents, a sharp lift on the 79 cents in the previous year. Shares in ANZ lifted 1.78 per cent yesterday to close at $33.24.
Stockland Corporation Limited
(ASX:SGP) will hold its AGM in Sydney today. It comes as the developer launches its biggest ever residential development, Willowdale, in the south-west Sydney suburb of Denham Court. Shares in Stockland lifted 0.5 per cent yesterday to close at $4.
Commodities
Gold is down $0.30 to $US1,352 an ounce for the December contract on Comex. Silver is down $0.10 to $22.54 for December. Copper is flat at $3.27 a pound. Oil is up $0.83 at US$98.68 a barrel for December light crude in New York.
