The Australian share market is likely to see some anxious trading today, ahead of this week’s US Federal Reserve meeting
With the Fed set to make its announcement on Thursday morning AEDT, investors have been trying to gauge the timing of an expected winding down of the US central bank's bond-buying program.
While many market participants are expecting the Fed to announce tapering in March, recent stronger economic data has led some to shorten that timeline to as soon as the end of this week's two-day meeting.
US economic news
Economic data from the US on Friday showed producer prices declined in November for a third straight month, indicating a lack of inflation pressure that could give the Federal Reserve some wiggle room.
Figures
Wall Street had a relatively muted Friday session: The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 16 points to close at 15,755, the S&P500 was flat at 1,775 and the Nasdaq added 3 points to close at 4,001.
European markets were also lcklustre after data showed Germany's wholesale price index fell less-than-expected to -0.2% from -1.0% in October. London’s FTSE lost 5 points, Paris shed 9 points and Frankfurt slipped by 11 points.
Asian markets were mostly upbeat: Tokyo’s Nikkei added 61, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng lifted by 28 points, but China’s Shanghai Composite dropped 7 points.
The Australian share market climbed out of a muted start to Friday’s session and soared 0.7 per cent by close. The S&P/ASX 200 index rose 36 points on Friday, trimming the weekly loss of 99 points to finish at 5,098. On the futures market the SPI is 15 points down.
Currencies
The Australian dollar has bounced back from the four-month low it hit at the end of last week. At 7:20AM the Aussie was buying $US89.66 cents, 55.07 Pence Sterling, 92.57 Yen and 65.32 Euro cents.
To company news
A consortium including Mirvac Group
(ASX:MGR) and Leighton Holdings’ Limited
(ASX:LEI) Leighton Properties has been selected to develop the Perth City Link project. The development represents 40 per cent of the broader $5.2 billion Perth City Link project, which will link Northbridge to the CBD. Shares in Mirvac lifted 1.57 per cent on Friday to close at $1.62.
Qantas Airways Limited
(ASX:QAN) has shelved a project to replace a 26-year-old IT system that supports almost 10 million members of its frequent-flyer program because it would cost another $40 million to complete. The new system was originally due to be rolled out within 18 months. Shares in Qantas rose 3.09 per cent on Friday to close at $1.
Commodities
Gold is up $9.70 to $US1,235 an ounce for the February contract on Comex. Silver is up $0.15 to $19.60 for March. Copper is up $0.02 at $3.31 a pound. Oil is down $0.90 at US$96.60 a barrel for January light crude in New York.
