Dividend season
August 10th, 2010 by Bryden Elssmann
Closing Data
| Current | Change | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dow Jones | 10,698.75 | 45.19 | 0.4% |
| NASDAQ | 2,305.69 | 17.22 | 0.8% |
| S P 500 | 1,127.79 | 6.15 | 0.5% |
| FTSE 100 | 5,410.52 | 78.13 | 1.5% |
| Nikkei 225 | 9,572.49 | -69.63 | -0.7% |
| ASX 200 | 4,594.90 | 28.8 | 0.6% |
| COMEX Gold - Dec 09 | 1202.6 | -2.7 | -0.2% |
| COMEX Silver - Sep 09 | 18.242 | -0.23 | -1.2% |
| COMEX Copper - Sep 09 | 335.4 | 1.1 | 0.3% |
| WTI Spot | 81.5 | 0.8 | 1.0% |
| AUD-USD | 0.9167 | -0.0025 | -0.3% |
| Aluminium | 2,201.00 | -16 | -0.7% |
| Copper | 7,425.00 | 5 | 0.1% |
| Lead | 2,171.00 | 3.5 | 0.2% |
| Nickel | 22,565.00 | 480 | 2.2% |
| Tin | 21,480.00 | 680 | 3.3% |
| Zinc | 2,128.50 | 18.5 | 0.9% |
Stocks rose modestly on Wall Street as investors awaited the outcome of the Federal Reserve policy setting meeting in the wake of recent economic reports. The Dow climbed 45 points to finish the session at 10,699. For every stock that was on the decline, nearly three were rising on the NYSE.
Crude oil rose to $US81.48 a barrel while gold also traded above $US1200 an ounce. The US Federal reserve is expected to deliver its latest assessment of the economy with some investors wondering if the central bank might restart stimulus programs in an effort to help the world’s largest economy recover. Speculation has been fuelled by last week’s jobs numbers as private employers added fewer jobs.
The Australian market is in the midst of reporting season, with a number of key stocks reporting in the next 2 weeks. Dividends are the theme this season with an expected fall to about $41.2 billion this season from $42 billion in 2009. The forecast drop in dividends comes despite listed companies sitting on approx $170 billion in cash reserves. The increase in cash reserves is attributed to the wave of capital raisings and reduced dividends during the darkest days of the GFC. However, JB-HiFi and RIO are the first to announce an increase in their final dividend. RIO is ex-dividend tomorrow for $0.49 while JB-HiFi is ex-dividend in 5 days for $0.33, fully franked. Dividends were drastically cut last year as companies struggled to stabilise their balance sheets.
Alumina Limited AWC will be reporting their interim results today, the stock has been trending higher since July and is trading just shy of its 200 day moving average, last price $1.64. However most of the focus will be on CBA which reports tomorrow.
The SPI is indicating a soft opening, currently trading 3.2 points higher. However given a positive off shore lead and firming commodity prices the market may push higher trading above 4600 points.
Contact your Freeman Fox Stockbroker on 07 3031 9960 or 1800 003 369 Ext 7.
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