Outlook: Aus stocks set for subdued start

Market Reports

The Australian share market is set for a subdued start to the day of trade, after US stocks closed weaker following disappointing earnings from Citigroup and Best Buys.
 
US investors were too preoccupied with company reports for better-than-expected economic reports to make much of a difference. 

US economic news
 
Jobless claims dipped by 2,000 in the last week to 326,000. That beat expectations of a small gain.
 
Meantime, inflation rose 0.3 per cent, in line with expectations, after a flat read in November. In the 12 months to December, consumer prices accelerated 1.5 per cent.
 
Figures

Wall Street fell mostly in to negative territory: The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 65 points to close at 16,417, the S&P 500 dropped 2 points to close at 1,846 and the NASDAQ rose by 4 points to close at 4,219.
 
European markets also closed lower: London’s FTSE lost 4 points, Paris dipped by 13 points and Frankfurt shed 16 points.
 
Asian markets were mixed: Tokyo’s Nikkei lost 62 points, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng added 84 points, and China’s Shanghai Composite was relatively flat.
 
The Australian share market climbed above the 5300 level yesterday, despite softer than expected local labour force figures. The S&P/ASX 200 index closed gained 64 points by close to finish at 5,309. On the futures market the SPI is 4 points down. 

Currencies
 
The Australian dollar sunk to a three-and-a-half-year low after the disappointing local jobs report. At 8:30AM the Aussie was buying $US88.22 cents, 53.96 Pence Sterling, 92.03 Yen and 64.79 Euro cents.
 
Company news
 
DEXUS Property Group (ASX:DXS) says it's added close to $60 million on the prior book value of five properties, after an indepdendent valuation. CEO Darren Steinberg says the 5 per cent average increase achieved across the properties valued in the December quarter reflects the positive impact on capital values as a result of leasing success. Shares in Dexus lifted 2.43 per cent yesterday to close at $1.05.
 
Djerriwarrh Investments Limited (ASX:DJW) has generated a near-17 per cent lift in half-year profit of $22.2 million. The listed investment company declared an interim dividend of 10 cents per share fully franked. Shares in Djerriwarrh fell 1.23 per cent to $4.80.
 
Ex-dividend

Abacus Property Group (ASX:ABP) will pay 8.25 cents per share unfranked and Katana Capital Limited (ASX:KAT) will pay 1.25 cents per share fully franked.
 
Commodities

Gold is up $1.90 to $US1,240 an ounce for the February contract on Comex. Silver is down $0.08 to $20.05 for March. Copper is down $0.02 at $3.34 a pound. Oil is down $0.21 at US$93.96 a barrel for February light crude in New York.

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