Australian shares seen firmer on Wall Street
August 19th, 2009 by Bryden Elssmann
Closing Data
| Current | Change | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dow Jones | 9217.94 | 82.6 | 0.9% |
| NASDAQ | 1955.92 | 25.08 | 1.3% |
| S P 500 | 989.67 | 9.94 | 1.0% |
| FTSE 100 | 4685.78 | 40.77 | 0.9% |
| Nikkei 225 | 10284.96 | 16.35 | 0.2% |
| ASX 200 | 4,382 | -6.8 | -0.2% |
| COMEX Gold - Dec 09 | 939.2 | 3.4 | 0.4% |
| COMEX Silver - Sep 09 | 13.96 | -0.015 | -0.1% |
| COMEX Copper - Sep 09 | 276.15 | -0.9 | -0.3% |
| WTI Spot | 68.62 | 1.87 | 2.8% |
| AUD-USD | 0.8266 | 0.0063 | 0.8% |
| Aluminium | 1990.5 | 80.5 | 4.2% |
| Copper | 6116 | 20 | 0.3% |
| Lead | 1825 | 39.5 | 2.2% |
| Nickel | 19880 | 905 | 4.8% |
| Tin | 14900 | 300 | 2.1% |
| Zinc | 1780 | 24.5 | 1.4% |
Following a positive lead from Wall St the Australian market may open stronger this morning, however the tone of the market is likely to be set by a string of company earnings results due out today. Higher oil and gold prices may lift the gold miners and energy stocks.
After sharp losses in the previous session, U.S. stocks rallied after better than expected earnings results from home improvement retailer Home Depot and discount retailer Target - helping to boost investor confidence.
The Dow was up 83 points to 9,218. The S&P500 gained 10 points to 990 and the NASDAQ rose 25 points to 1,956.
Making news this morning, China has agreed to buy $50 billion worth of liquefied natural gas over the next 20 years from the proposed North West Shelf Gorgon development. PetroChina will buy 2.25 million tonnes of LNG a year from the Gorgon project offshore Western Australia.
BLD
Building group Boral Ltd has posted a 42 per cent fall in annual profit due to the impact of the global recession and says it's currently difficult to make forecasts for this year. Net profit for the year ended June 30 was $142 million, down from $243 million in the previous year. Full year sales revenue fell six per cent to $4.9 billion, reflecting a five per cent decline in the Australian business and a 19 per cent decline in the US business. Revenues from Asia lifted by 15 per cent. Boral's underlying earnings before interest tax depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) declined by 22 per cent to $539 million, due to the significantly weaker housing markets in both the US and Australia.
CSL
Shares in CSL will rise posting FY net profit of $1.15 billion, a 63% rise on FY08 and well ahead of $1.03 billion. Chief Brian McNamee says growth in demand for plasma therapies is expected to continue and CSL's sales will benefit with a shift towards its liquid intravenous immunoglobulin product and with orders for its H1N1 influenza - or swine flu - vaccine. This FY CSL forecasts net profit of between $1.16 billion and $1.26 billion at average FY09 exchange rates, or a 14%-24% growth on the FY09 underlying operational profit of $1.02 billion. CSL is likely to open above $34 today.
Contact your Freeman Fox Stockbroker on 07 3031 9960 or 1800 003 369 Ext 7.
Disclaimer
The material in “Market Fox” (newsletter) is of a general nature only and neither purports nor is intended to be regarded as advice. No consideration has been given or will be given to your investment objectives, financial situation or needs. The decision to invest or trade and the method selected is a personal decision and involves an inherent level of risk. Not all risks can be or will be explained in the newsletter. Previous results are no indication of future results. Actual results achieved in the market can vary considerably. The Directors and Representatives of Freeman Fox Ltd and their associates may hold securities in the companies presented.
The research made available in this newsletter is for your private use only and it is protected by applicable copyright laws and other applicable intellectual property right laws. You may not reproduce, distribute, disseminate, broadcast, sell, publish, circulate or give for free, any of the materials made available to you in this newsletter without first seeking the prior written consent of Freeman Fox Ltd.
Freeman Fox Ltd is not required to update any of the content made available in this newsletter, including but not limited to any research commentary, forecasts, recommendations or other analysis in this newsletter. Therefore, for the avoidance of any doubt, material made available in this newsletter may not be accurate after the date of publication or the date on which it is displayed in the newsletter.
To the extent permitted by law, Freeman Fox Ltd and their respective directors, officers, employees, contractors and agents disclaim all responsibility to you for any loss, liability, claim, expense (including but not limited to legal costs and resultant defence or settlement costs) or damage whatsoever, whether direct, consequential, special, incidental, punitive or indirect (including but not limited to loss of profits, trading losses and damages that result from delay, loss or inconvenience) arising out of or in connection with the content of the newsletter and/or any omissions from the content whether in contract, tort (including negligence), statute or otherwise and even if Freeman Fox Ltd has been advised of the possibility of such damage or loss.
If you require assistance in relation to your personal investment situation, contact an authorised representative of Freeman Fox Ltd.