The Australian share market looks set to regain some lost ground today after US stocks shot up on strong December retail sales data and a solid start to US reporting season.
US stocks got a boost from better-than-expected earnings reports from JP Morgan Chase and Wells Fargo.
US economic news
Investors were also cheered by news that retail sales in the US had climbed 0.2 per cent in December, which beat forecasts for a 0.1 per cent increase.
Figures
Wall Street had a solid session: The Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 116 points to close at 16,374, the S&P 500 added 20 points to close at 1,839 and the NASDAQ jumped by 70 points to close at 4,183.
European markets followed suit: London’s FTSE added 10 points, Paris lifted by 11 points and Frankfurt gained 30 points.
Japan's Nikkei average tumbled 3.1 percent to a one-month low, posting the biggest one-day drop in five months after the yen rose sharply following a weaker-than-expected US jobs read.Tokyo’s Nikkei plunged 490 points, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng lost 97 points, and China’s Shanghai Composite added 17 points.
Aussie stocks dived 1.5 per cent yesterday in the biggest daily drop since September last year. The S&P/ASX 200 index plunged 80 points to finish at 5,212. On the futures market the SPI is 30 points higher.
Currencies
The Australian dollar has lost more than three-quarters of a US cent overnight, with some traders suggesting investors may be positioning themselves ahead of the release of local jobs data.At 8:20AM the Aussie was buying $US89.61 cents, 54.53 Pence Sterling, 93.42 Yen and 65.53 Euro cents.
Economic news
Westpac Melbourne Institute will release its consumer sentiment survey for January, the Australian Bureau of Statistics will put out its new car sales data and lending finance figures, both for the month of November.
Company news
Telstra Corporation Limited
(ASX:TLS) has told media it isn't selling Trading Post. The telco told media the classified ad publication is profitable and has licensed the brand to website design and marketing company Websites. Shares in Telstra fell 0.95 per cent yesterday to close at $5.20.
Buru Energy Limited
(ASX:BRU) executive director Eric Streitberg will transition to non-executive director of the company as part of its succession planning program. Dr Keiran Wulf has been appointed Managing Director of the company. Shares in Buru Energy dropped 0.26 per cent yesterday to close at $1.89.
Ex-dividend Euroz Limited
(ASX:EZL) will pay 1.75 cents per share fully franked.
Commodities
Gold is down $5.70 to $US1,245 an ounce for the February contract on Comex. Silver is down $0.10 to $20.28 for March. Copper is down $0.01 at $3.33 a pound. Oil is up $0.79 at US$92.59 a barrel for February light crude in New York.
