The Australian share market is poised to plunge deeper in to negative territory at the open, after US stocks fell overnight, particularly in the mining sector where shares fell in line with a slide in precious metals prices. Wall Street took a breather from the bull market of 2013, closing lower with some analysts talking of profit-taking and the possibility of a tighter monetary policy.
US Economic News
There was plenty of economic data for US investors to digest, however it didn’t count for much in the end. The ISM purchasing managers index for November rose to 57.3 from 56.4 the previous month, against expectations of a slight fall. In addition, the US construction sector registered solid growth in October, also better than predicted. It was up 0.8 per cent in its best growth result since May 2009. Investors have also been keeping an eye on data on holiday shopping. The National Retail Federation said 141 million people shopped over the Thanksgiving weekend, up from 139 million last year.
Currencies
That economic news pushed the greenback higher against the Australian dollar overnight. At 8:20AM the Aussie was buying $US91.06 cents, 55.69 Pence Sterling, 93.74 Yen and 67.27 Euro cents.
Economic News
Local investors will be watching and waiting for the RBA to unveil its official interest rate decision for December this afternoon. The official cash rate has been on hold at a record low of 2.5 per cent since the bank last cut rates in August. Economists are tipping the central bank will hold steady. FNN will bring you that news in a special bulletin after 2.30pm AEST today.
Also on the economic calendar today, the ABS will release October retail sales figures and the September current account balance.
Figures
Wall Street closed lower: The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 78 points to close at 16,009, the S&P 500 dropped 5 points to close at 1,801 and the NASDAQ slipped 15 points to close at 4,045.
European share markets largely drifted lower on light trade overnight as investors waited on several key data releases this week: London’s FTSE lost 55 points, Paris dipped by 9 points and Frankfurt lost 3 points.
Asian markets closed mixed: Tokyo’s Nikkei slipped by 7 points, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng added 157 points, and China’s Shanghai Composite dropped by 13 points.
The Australian share market plunged to six week lows yesterday on the back of bank and miner sell-offs. The S&P/ASX 200 index closed 41 points down to finish at 5,280. On the futures market the SPI is 29 points down.
Company news
Australia and New Zealand Banking Group
(ASX:ANZ) and National Australia Bank Limited
(ASX:NAB) continue to edge out their two big rivals in gaining share in the nation's home lending market, while Westpac Banking Corp
(ASX:WBC) lags behind the broader market. With nearly $3.8 billion in housing loans sold in the past month, ANZ and NAB grabbed most of the gains. Shares in ANZ dipped 0.16 per cent yesterday to close at $31.85.
Fortescue Metals Group Limited
(ASX:FMG) says it's in a position to comfortably repay debt without having to get into joint ventures or sell assets as the price of iron ore remains strong. Chief executive Nev Power told media Fortescue's decision to use debt to fund its expansion had been justified after the Kings mine went in to production two weeks ago. Shares in Fortescue Metals dropped 1.94 per cent yesterday to close at $5.57.
Ex-dividends
Collins Foods Limited
(ASX:CKF): 4.5 cents per share fully franked.
Commodities
Gold is down $28.50 to $US1,222 an ounce for the February contract on Comex. Silver is down $0.74 to $19.29 for March. Copper is down $0.02 at $3.18 a pound. Oil is up $1.10 at US$93.82 a barrel for January light crude in New York.
