The Australian share market looks set to make a comeback in early trade, after US stocks pushed almost one per cent higher ahead of this week's US Federal Reserve policy meeting.
US economic news
The main economic data of note overnight was a lift in US industrial production data to a pre-recession peak.
Industrial production surged a seasonally adjusted 1.1 per cent from the prior month. That was the biggest jump in a year.
Elsewhere, eurozone manufacturing data improved, while Chinese manufacturing growth numbers were weaker than last month.
But investors are looking ahead to the Fed’s announcement on Thursday morning AEST.
While many traders 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.
Currencies
The Australian dollar is slightly lower, trading in a tight range, ahead of announcements from the US central bank.At 8:20AM the Aussie was buying $US89.46 cents, 54.89 Pence Sterling, 92.15 Yen and 65.01 Euro cents.
Figures
Wall Street rallied: The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 129 points to close at 15,885, the S&P 500 added 11 points to close at 1,787 and the NASDAQ lifted by 29 points to close at 4,030.
European markets followed suit: London’s FTSE gained 82 points, Paris jumped 60 points and Frankfurt surged by 157 points.
Asian markets however fell in to negative territory: Tokyo’s Nikkei dropped 250 points, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng lost 131 points, and China’s Shanghai Composite fell 35 points.
The Australian share market ended 0.2 per cent lower yesterday as the threat of a potential cut to US economic stimulus kept investors on the sidelines. The S&P/ASX 200 index slipped 8 points to finish the session at 5,090. On the futures market the SPI is 33 points higher.
Economic news
All eyes will be on the Federal Government today as it releases its Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook. The report is expected to show deficits totalling more than $120 billion over the next four years, starting with a figure close to $50 billion in fiscal 2014.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics will also release new motor vehicles sales data for November.
Company news
Australia and New Zealand Banking Group
(ASX:ANZ) ANZ will restructure its management team as it looks to push further into Asia, according to media reports. Several teams in ANZ's international division will be merged, and some levels of management will be removed altogether, the reports say. Shares in ANZ lifted 0.13 per cent yesterday to close at $30.29.
Senex Energy Limited
(ASX:SXY) has hit out at AWE for its handling of a friendly $750 million scrip-only offer for the oil and gas group. Managing director Ian Davies says that after approaching AWE last week, he did not "expect the potential partner to leak it all over the world" by entering a trading halt. However, AWE says it requested a trading halt because Senex had revealed it had been buying AWE shares on market. Shares in Senex Energy fell 8.44 per cent yesterday to close at 70.5 cents.
Ex-dividend Singapore Telecommunications Limited
(ASX:SGT) will pay about 6 cents per share unfranked.
Commodities
Gold is up $9.80 to $US1,244 an ounce for the February contract on Comex. Silver is up $0.49 to $20.10 for March. Copper is up $0.01 at $3.33 a pound. Oil is up $0.88 at US$97.48 a barrel for January light crude in New York.
