Outlook: ASX looks lower after Wall St slips

Market Reports

The Australian share market looks to open lower after Wall Street paused from a run of gains. Global markets posted a soft performance in the absence of any major economic news or drivers. Across commodities the gold price has continued to fall after yesterday retreating to a three month low. On the local economic front investors will get a print on business investment and new home sales numbers today. 
 
Global markets
 
Wall Street slipped from record highs on Wednesday: The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 42 points to close at 16,633, the S&P 500 dipped 2 points to close at 1,910 and the Nasdaq dipped 12 points to close at 4,225.
 
European markets closed mixed on weak German jobs data: London's FTSE 100 added 6 points, France's CAC 40 added 2 points and Germany's DAX lost 2 points.
 
Asian markets ended higher on Wednesday: Japan’s Nikkei rose 34 points, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 136 points, and China’s Shanghai Composite rose 16 points.
 
The Australian share market nudged six-year highs yesterday on the back of record closing highs on Wall Street: The S&P/ASX 200 Index gained 15.5 points on Wednesday to end at 5,527. On the futures market the SPI is pointing 13 points lower. 
 
Currencies 
 
The Australian dollar has traded steady ahead of today’s business investment data and at 7:20am was buying $US0.9234, 55.28 Pence Sterling, 94.06 Yen and 67.96 Euro cents.
 
Economic news due out today
 
Australian Bureau of Statistics: Private new capital and expected expenditure figures for the March quarter
 
Housing Industry Association: New home sales for April
 
Company news
 
Westfield Group's (ASX:WDC) proposed $70 billion restructure with Westfield Retail Trust (ASX:WRT) will be put to a shareholder vote today with many casting doubt if it will go through. While experts backed the original proposal Westfield sweetened the deal last month in the face of opposition from some of Westfield Retail Trust shareholders. Under the deal Westfield Group plans to merge its Australian and New Zealand business with Westfield Retail Trust. The new entity is to be known as Scentre Group and the international business of Westfield Group will become Westfield Corporation. Shares in both companies dropped ahead of today’s vote with Westfield Group falling 1.45 per cent to close at $10.85 on Wednesday. 
 
About 450 Qantas Airways Limited (ASX:QAN) call centre jobs will be lost after the company announced it will close its call centres in Brisbane and Melbourne. Australia’s largest airline plans to consolidate its three Australian call centres into one facility based in Hobart by 2016. Qantas says the announcement comes as part of the company’s previously announced $2 billion transformation program and associated reduction of 5,000 jobs. Shares in Qantas Airways rose 1.09 per cent following the announcement to close at $1.39 on Wednesday. 
 
Ex-dividends today

E & A Limited (ASX:EAL) paying a 2.75 cent fully franked dividend
Orica Limited (ASX:ORI) paying a 40 cent, 40 per cent franked dividend
 
Ex-dividends tomorrow

Aquaint Capital Limited (ASX:AQU) paying a 1 cent unfranked dividend
 
Commodities 

The price of gold has continued to fall $6.20 to $US1,259.30 an ounce for the June contract on Comex. 
Silver has eased $0.01 to $19.06 for May. 
Copper is steady at $3.17 a pound. 
Oil has dropped $1.39 to $US102.72 a barrel for July light crude in New York. 

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