The Australian share market is set for a moderate dip at the open, as US stocks closed relatively flat ahead of this week’s Thanksgiving holiday.
While Wall Street didn’t move much, the Dow’s slight gains pushed it deeper in to record territory and the Nasdaq was unable to hold above 4000 after breaching the level for the first time in 13 years overnight.
A surprise deal to curb Iran's nuclear program in exchange for a loosening of economic sanctions boosted sentiment and sent oil prices falling.
Figures
Wall Street was subdued: The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 8 points to close at 16,073, the S&P 500 lost 2 points to close at 1,802 and the NASDAQ added 3 points to close at 3,995.
In Europe, the Stoxx Europe 600 rose 0.4 per cent to trade close to 5-year highs after data showed that French business confidence in November was unchanged from October levels. That was versus expectations of a slight decline. London’s FTSE lifted by 20 points, Paris added 23 points and Frankfurt jumped 81 points.
Asian markets were mostly higher, highlighted by the 1.5 per cent rally in Japan's Nikkei Stock Average to a six-month high. Tokyo’s Nikkei soared 237 points, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng lost 12 points, and China’s Shanghai Composite fell 10 points.
The Australian share market came off the day’s highs in afternoon trade yesterday yet still finished stronger. The S&P/ASX 200 index closed 17 points up to finish at 5,353. On the futures market the SPI is 6 points down.
Currencies
The Australian dollar pushed higher as traders went bargain hunting, taking advantage of the currency's low value, after its big fall in recent days. At 8:20AM the Aussie was buying $US91.63 cents, 56.74 Pence Sterling, 93.09 Yen and 67.82 Euro cents.
Company news
Harvey Norman Holdings Limited
(ASX:HVN) is holding its annual general meeting today. The update comes amid reports of mounting shareholder pressure on the retailer pay out its millions of dollars in franking credits. Shares in Harvey Norman rose 1.26 per cent yesterday to close at $3.22.
Challenger Limited
(ASX:CGF) will also hold its annual general meeting today. The investment company has been eyeing investments in infrastructure and property, as the group looks to diversify its fund management operations, according to media reports. Shares in Challenger lifted 5.17 per cent yesterday to close at $6.31.
Commodities
Gold is down $2.90 to $US1,241 an ounce for the December contract on Comex. Silver is up $0.02 to $20 for December. Copper is up $0.01 at $3.22 a pound. Oil fell by $0.75 to US$94.09 a barrel for January light crude in New York.
