World markets still weak
November 12th, 2008 by Lawrence Grasso
Closing Data
| current | change | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dow Jones | 8693.96 | -176.58 | -2.0% |
| NASDAQ | 1580.9 | -35.84 | -2.2% |
| S P 500 | 898.95 | -20.26 | -2.2% |
| FTSE 100 | 4246.69 | -157.23 | -3.6% |
| Nikkei 225 | 8809.3 | -272.1 | -3.0% |
| SPI Futures | 3960 | -33 | -0.8% |
| All Ords | 3,907.30 | -138.2 | -3.4% |
| Oil | 59.41 | -2.78 | -4.5% |
| Gold | 732.8 | -13.7 | -1.8% |
| Silver | 9.805 | -0.415 | -4.1% |
| Aluminium | 1906.5 | -64.5 | -3.3% |
| Copper | 3690.5 | -314.5 | -7.9% |
| Lead | 1285 | -126 | -8.9% |
| Nickel | 10960 | -945 | -7.9% |
| Tin | 14700 | -750 | -4.9% |
| Zinc | 1080.5 | -27 | -2.4% |
U.S. stocks continued to trade sharply lower Tuesday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average down 176.58 points or 1.99% to end at 8,693.96, as corporate outlooks and more fears about the automotive sectors weighed on trading. To start off the session, earnings outlooks from corporations ranging from luxury home builder Toll Brothers to coffee-shop operator Starbucks suggested consumer spending is even worse than feared. And, at the same time, the strapped cash positions of General Motors and Ford are continuing to hang over the market. While market veterans are clamouring for government intervention and expecting some manoeuvring next week, it doesn't appear a move is imminent. And the longer the two firms see little help, the more concerned traders are becoming, especially as it relates to their impact on the credit markets.
On the local front Australian stocks are set to open lower on Wednesday after Wall Street fell on worries about corporate earnings and the deepening of a global slump. Commodities fell sharply as oil prices dived. Resources stocks such as BHP Billiton Ltd (BHP) and Santos Ltd (STO) could take a hit after copper shed 6 percent and oil tumbled 5 percent as bleak economic prospects fanned renewed concerns about demand.
WDC
Westfield Group WDC, the world's top shopping-mall owner, reaffirmed its 2008 guidance on Wednesday, saying it would grow annual operating profit by 5.5 percent a share and distribute 106.5 cents a share. WDC said retail sales growth slowed in its key markets in the three months ended Sept. 30, led by a decline in spending on fashion and jewellery in the U.S.. For the three months ended Sept. 30, the Sydney-based company said that specialty store rental sales in the U.S., where it has about half of its malls, contracted by 3.4% from a year earlier, compared with a 2.6% contraction for the full year ended Sept. 30 compared with the previous year. Comparable retail sales for Westfield in the quarter showed Australian sales growth rose 3.9%, compared with 5% in the year ended Sept. 30, while U.K. sales gained 1.4%,compared with 2.6%.
FMG
Fortescue Metals Group the third- largest iron-ore exporter in Australia, said shipments may drop to as low as 16 million metric tons this year, because of weak demand and a temporary shutdown of its port and mine processing plant. Stocks of iron ore in China, the world's biggest consumer, remain high and shipping schedules suggest a ``major slow down'' in Chinese demand for November and December.
SHL
Australian healthcare provider Sonic Healthcare Ltd (SHL) confirmed on Wednesday it plans to raise $350 million in a share placement. The new shares are being offered at $11.40-$12.20 per share range, compared with Sonic's last traded price of $13.00.
AUD
Australian dollar fell to two-week lows offshore, subdued by risk aversion as a gloomy outlook for the global economy prompted investors to sell riskier assets and higher-yielding currencies.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
"We can have facts without thinking but we cannot have thinking without facts"
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