The Australian share market is tipped to soar today after a record-breaking session on Wall Street, with US investors in a buying mood following the release of a surprisingly strong monthly jobs report.
US economic news
US investors were jubilant at the latest read on jobs. The US economy added a better-than-expected 204,000 jobs in October. That was despite a federal government shutdown that was expected to limit payroll growth. Despite the gains, the unemployment rate edged higher to 7.3 per cent from 7.2 per cent.
Currencies
That news pushed the greenback stronger against the Australian dollar. At 7:30AM the Aussie was buying $US93.86 cents, 58.68 Pence Sterling, 93.15 Yen and 70.3 Euro cents.
Figures
Wall Street rallied to a record high on Friday New York time: The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped by 168 points to close at 15,762, the S&P500 added 23 points to close at 1,771 and the Nasdaq surged by 62 points to close at 3,919.
European shares were subdued after a cut to France's credit rating by the Standard & Poor's. The rating agency said it feared the French government will struggle to reduce its deficit and debt.London’s FTSE added 11 points, Paris lost 21 points and Frankfurt dropped 3 points.
Investors in Asia hung back on Friday ahead of a four-day meeting in Beijing where China's communist leaders are expected to lay out their long-term economic plan. Tokyo’s Nikkei plunged 142 points, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell by 137 points, and China’s Shanghai Composite lost 23 points.
The Australian share market dropped 0.4 per cent on Friday, amid increasing fears the US Federal Reserve will start to wind back its stimulus program as soon as next month. The S&P/ASX 200 index lost 21 points on Friday, widening the weekly loss of 10 points to finish at 5,401.On the futures market the SPI is 55 points higher.
Economic news
The Australian Bureau of Statistics will release housing finance data for September today. Economists are expecting a 4.3 per cent lift to reflect a continuing recovery in the Australian property market.
Company news
Orica Limited
(ASX:ORI) will unveil its full-year results today. In May, Chief Executive Ian Smith said he was optimistic about the long-term performance of the explosives and chemicals group, saying the company had been responding to miners' demands for greater productivity. Shares in Orica fell 2.06 per cent on Friday to $19.54.
NRW Holdings Limited
(ASX:NWH) will hold its annual general meeting today. The update comes after the company secured a lucrative contract from BHP Billiton Limited
(ASX:BHP) for work at its Mooka Ore car repair shop site in July. Shares in NRW jumped 2.92 per cent on Friday to close at $1.24.
Ex-dividend Australian Pharmaceutical Industries Limited
(ASX:API)
Commodities
Gold is down $23.90 to $US1,285 an ounce for the December contract on Comex. Silver is down $0.34 to $21.32 for December. Copper is up $0.01 at $3.25 a pound. Oil is up $0.40 at US$94.60 a barrel for December light crude in New York.
