Key results due today
August 25th, 2010 by Lawrence Grasso
Closing Data
| Current | Change | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dow Jones | 10,040.45 | -133.96 | -1.3% |
| NASDAQ | 2,123.76 | -35.87 | -1.7% |
| S P 500 | 1,051.87 | -15.49 | -1.5% |
| FTSE 100 | 5,155.95 | -78.89 | -1.5% |
| Nikkei 225 | 8,995.14 | -121.55 | -1.3% |
| ASX 200 | 4,381.30 | -47.7 | -1.1% |
| COMEX Gold - Dec 09 | 1233.4 | 4.9 | 0.4% |
| COMEX Silver - Sep 09 | 18.428 | 0.386 | 2.1% |
| COMEX Copper - Sep 09 | 324.1 | -5.05 | -1.5% |
| WTI Spot | 71.63 | -1.47 | -2.0% |
| AUD-USD | 0.8824 | -0.0091 | -1.0% |
| Aluminium | 2,038.50 | -20.5 | -1.0% |
| Copper | 7,171.00 | -79 | -1.1% |
| Lead | 1,991.00 | -30.5 | -1.5% |
| Nickel | 20,710.00 | -510 | -2.4% |
| Tin | 20,550.00 | -200 | -1.0% |
| Zinc | 1,970.50 | -43.5 | -2.2% |
Stocks fell on Wall Street with the Dow Jones Industrial down 133.96 points or 1.32% to 10040.45. Declines followed a report of a 27.2% plunge in U.S. existing-home sales in July, the latest in a string of disappointing economic reports despite the recent uptick in M&A activity, which would typically be seen as a sign of improving confidence. The major movers overnight were: Boeing declined 3.7%, Alcoa fell 3%, Caterpillar slipped 2.7%.
Australian stocks are expected to fall on Wednesday spooked by investor worries over the global recovery after weak U.S. data sent Wall Street shares to their lowest level in seven weeks. Australia's own political uncertainty could also weigh on the market as the country will likely need weeks to form a new government after Saturday's election returned a hung parliament with a handful of independent's holding the balance of power. The SFE has the Australian market opening down approximately 57 points.
BHP Billiton (BHP), which last week launched a $39 billion hostile takeover offer for Potash Corp will be in focus as it reports full-year earnings late in the day.
Other major firms to report earnings include:
Suncorp Metway (SUN) Reported Wednesday that its annual net profit more than doubled on the year to $780 million from $348 million. Also stated it would pay a final dividend of 20 cents a share. Chief Executive Patrick Snowball said "Suncorp is making good progress in recovering from the challenges that became apparent during the global financial crisis". Banking arm recorded a pre-tax profit of $78 million for the year.
Asciano (AIO) Australian ports and rail operator reported a loss of $975.9 million Wednesday after a $1.14 billion write down in the value of its assets, but said it had delivered a strong operating performance. Asciano said its full year earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation, amortization and significant items rose 10.5% to A$723.7 million, up from underlying EBITDA of A$655.2 million a year ago.
Oz Minerals (OZL) said Wednesday that first half net profit was $405.7 million, after the company posted a $580.7 million loss a year earlier. The company said revenue from its Prominent Hill mine in the six months to June 30 rose more than fivefold to $589.9 million from $89.6 million the previous year. OZL has decided to pay a 3 cent dividend. Chief Executive Terry Burgess said last month that Oz was actively seeking acquisitions and had carried out due diligence on acquiring three or four copper assets, making non-binding offers in some cases.
Contact your Freeman Fox Stockbroker on 07 3031 9960 or 1800 003 369 Ext 7.
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