The Australian share market looks set for a soft start to the session ahead of domestic jobs data and after Wall Street ended mixed. US investors pulled back overnight from the prior day’s buoyant gains which were sparked by a testimony by new US Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen. European and Asian markets got a boost from Chinese trade data which helped the local bourse extend its five day winning streak yesterday.
Australia’s jobs market will be in focus today when the official print on employment and unemployment are released this morning. Reporting season also continues with majors such as Rio Tinto Limited
(ASX:RIO), Telstra Corporation Limited
(ASX:TLS), ASX Limited
(ASX:ASX), Singapore Telecommunications Limited
(ASX:SGT) and Webjet Limited
(ASX:WEB) among those reporting financials.
Financials
Wall Street’s major indexes paused on Wednesday following a four day rally: The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 31 points to close at 15,964, the S&P 500 lost 0.49 points to close at 1,819 and the NASDAQ added 10 points to close at 4,201.
European markets moved higher for a sixth session: London’s FTSE rose 2.4 points, Paris rose 22 points and Frankfurt rose 61 points.
Asian markets advanced on news China’s exports jumped in January: Tokyo’s Nikkei gained 82 points, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gained 323 points, and China’s Shanghai Composite gained 6 points.
The Australian share market continued to climb higher after China’s trade data to end more than 1 per cent stronger: The S&P/ASX 200 index advanced 56 points to end the session at 5,310. On the futures market the SPI is 9 points higher.
Currencies
The Australian Dollar was also aided by China’s trade data, offsetting a disappointing print on domestic consumer confidence yesterday. At 8:20AM the Aussie dollar was buying $US0.903 cents, 54.43 Pence Sterling, 92.59 Yen and 66.44 Euro cents.
Economic news
Australian Bureau of Statistics: Labour force figures for January
Company news
Rio Tinto Limited
(ASX:RIO) will release its full year financial results today just weeks after reporting it surpassed its annual cost-cutting targets and production forecasts for copper and iron ore output over the 2013 calendar year. The global mining giant is widely expected to post an improved result from last year’s $3 billion loss around the same time CEO Tom Albanese stepped down and was replaced by Sam Walsh. Overnight Rio Tinto announced it has inked agreements to sell wharf and land options to LNG Canada, a joint venture between Royal Dutch Shell PLC , Mitsubishi Corp, Korea Gas Corp and PetroChina Co Limited. Shares in Rio Tinto rose 2.19 per cent on Wednesday to finish the session at $68.10.
Telstra Corporation Limited
(ASX:TLS) will report its first half results today. Analysts have tipped Australia’s largest telco could be set to post an interim net profit of $1.8 billion and revenue of $12.9 billion. The results will come amid speculation the Telstra is considering outsourcing as much as 1,000 jobs to Asia after a review is finalised at the end of March. Shares in Telstra gained 1.19 per cent on Wednesday to finish the session at $5.11.
Ex-dividends today
Kimberley Diamonds Limited
(ASX:KDL) paying a 2 cent unfranked dividend
Milton Corporation Limited
(ASX:MLT) paying an 8.2 cent fully franked dividend
ResMed Inc.
(ASX:RMD) paying a 2.5 unfranked dividend
Ex-dividends tomorrow
GUD Holdings Limited
(ASX:GUD) paying an 18 fully franked dividend
Commodities
Gold has risen $5.20 to $US1,295 an ounce for the April contract on Comex.
Silver has added $0.18 to $20.34 for March.
Copper has lifted $0.04 at $3.26 a pound.
Oil has gained $0.43 at $US100.37 a barrel for March light crude in New York.
