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| Subject: Australian Stock Market Report ==the bug alfred brisbane==ask the question selling wine cheaper than softdrink | |
Author: Friday 21, February 2014 week 8 nasdaq futures expiry | [ Next Thread |
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] Date Posted: 22:59:19 02/23/14 Sun Australian Stock Market Report Friday 21, February 2014 Summary Close Movement % Change All Ordinaries 5451.00 29.70 0.50 All Industrials 5441.70 29.40 0.50 50 Leaders 5609.40 31.90 0.60 Market Turnover $A 5,535,829,999.00 Commentary For detailed video updates: http://www.youtube.com/user/CommSecTV EVENING REPORT (5pm AEDT) The Australian share market rose for a sixth straight session today, thanks to a strong lead from Wall Street and generally upbeat earnings results. The All Ordinaries Index (XAO) finished higher by 28.1 points or 0.5 per cent to 5449.4. In company news, insurer IAG limited (IAG) lifted its first half profit by almost 40 per cent to $642 million, despite a decline in its margins due to higher than expected claims. The result was skewed by a $182 million loss relating to the company’s discontinued UK business in the prior half. Shareholders will receive an interim dividend of 13c per share. IAG rose 0.5 per cent today to $5.55. Gaming and entertainment company Crown Resorts Limited (CWN) disappointed with its first half normalised profit of $315 million. Reported NPAT rose 111.6% to $382.5 million, with that result underpinned by strength from its Macau business. Weak consumer sentiment saw revenue at Crown Melbourne fall by more than 9 per cent. CWN shares fell 3.2 per cent today to $16.68. Iluka Resources (ILU) saw its annual profit fall sharply as it wrote down a number of idle operations. ILU shares rose 1.6 per cent today to $9.37. Troubled surfwear retailer Billabong (BBG) posted another loss of $126 million for the half, an improvement on last year’s $537 deficit. BBG shares rose 1.4 per cent to 74c. Santos (STO) disappointed with its result, sending its shares down almost 5 per cent. The energy company saw a 17 per cent drop in full year underlying profit to $504 million. The company will pay a final dividend of 15 cents per share. On the market overall, a total of 1.9 billion shares changed hands, worth $5.5 billion. 553 shares closed higher, 413 were lower and 364 were unchanged. At 4.30pm AEDT the SFE 200 Futures Index was at 5413, up 32 points. Ahead tonight, existing home sales data is released in the US. Juliette Saly CommSec Market Analyst MID-SESSION REPORT (12.15pm AEDT) The Australian sharemarket is higher at lunch for the sixth consecutive trading day and for the 11th time in 12 sessions. The All Ordinaries Index (XAO) is up 0.6 per cent, with the miners the start performers. The last time the XAO improved from Monday through to Friday was 14 months ago. Largely positive economic news in the U.S. (relating to jobs and manufacturing) helped lift global markets overnight. The miners are leading the gains, rising by 1.2 per cent. BHP Billiton (BHP) is trading at its best level in 2.5 years, up 1.3 per cent. The smaller and more iron ore focused Rio Tinto (RIO) is 0.76 per cent firmer and at a 12 month high. Iron ore miner Fortescue Metals (FMG) is 2.2 per cent higher and hovering around the $6/share mark (a level it has struggled to rise above over the past few years). The earnings season continues today, with Crown (CWN), IAG, Santos (STO) and National Australia Bank (NAB) issuing results. Casino operator, Crown (CWN) posted a 64.3% rise in net profit to $382.5m. This was a weaker than expected result, partly blamed on weak consumer confidence. CWN declared an 18 cent/share, 50% franked interim dividend which will be payable to eligible investors on 11th April. CWN shares are down 4 per cent. IAG, the owner of NRMA issued a 39.3% jump in half year net profit to $642m, together with a 15 cent half year dividend. The result was helped by cost cuts and was better than expected. IAG shares are up 1.7 per cent. Energy company, Santos (STO), reported a weaker than expected full year profit of $516m. The result was boosted by record crude oil sales and higher gas and oil prices. Net profit was negatively impacted by a rise in depreciation expenses and exploration costs. STO is the largest producer of natural gas to the Australian domestic market, supplying around 14% of our gas needs. STO shares are down 2.6 per cent. No major economic data is scheduled for release in Australia today. The Australian dollar briefly rose above US90c this morning; however is now at US89.8c. Steven Daghlian CommSec Market Analyst US MORNING REPORT (8.00am AEDT) In US economic data, consumer prices rose by 0.1% in January to be up 1.6% over the year. Analysts had expected prices to rise by 0.1%. US Markit Flash PMI rose from 53.7 to 56.7 in January - its fastest pace in nearly four years. The gains were largely due to a lift in the new orders component which was at its highest level since May 2010. US jobless claims fell by 3,000 to a seasonally adjusted 336,000 last week. European shares were mixed on Thursday, paring most of the losses in late trade following better US economic data. However resource stocks were hit hard after China´s flash PMI fell to a seven month low. The European basic resources index fell by 1.1%. Europe´s biggest defence contractor BAE Systems fell 8.3% and dragged the industrial sector lower after warning its earnings could fall by 10% this year. The FTSEurofirst 300 index closed flat while the UK FTSE lifted by 0.2% and the German Dax fell by 0.4%. Mining shares were mixed in London trade with BHP Billiton shares up by 0.7% while Rio Tinto lost 0.9%. US sharemarkets rallied on Thursday as the lift in US manufacturing data to a four-year high offsetting weak earnings results. Wal-Mart Stores fell 1.8% after reporting a drop in US same-store sales and gave a disappointing earnings outlook. At the close of trade, the US Dow Jones was up by 93 points or 0.6% and the S&P 500 was up by 0.6% while the Nasdaq gained 30 points or 0.7%. US long-term treasury prices fell on Thursday (yields higher) following the rather upbeat US flash manufacturing data. US 2 year yields fell by 1 point to 0.32% while US 10 year yields rose by 2 points to 2.76%. Major currencies fell against the greenback after the euro zone and Chine PMI readings came in well below expectations. The Euro fell from highs near US$1.3760 to US$1.3690 and was near US$1.3715 in afternoon US trade. The Aussie dollar touched early lows near US89.35c before lifting to US90.10c and was holding near its highs in afternoon US trade. And the Japanese yen eased from 101.65 yen per US dollar to JPY102.45 and was trading near JPY102.25 in afternoon US trade. US oil prices eased from four-month highs on Thursday after US government data showed that the harsh winter weather continued to fuel demand for heating oil. US crude stockpiles fell by an expected 1.73 million barrels last week. Distillate inventories fell by 339,000 barrels. Brent crude fell by US22c to US$110.29 a barrel while US Nymex crude fell by US39c or 0.4% to US$102.92 a barrel. Base metal prices were mostly weaker on the London Metal Exchange on Thursday with the exception of aluminium (+0.2%). The other metals fell between 0.4-1.5%. The gold price fell on Thursday with the Comex gold futures down by US$3.50 or 0.3% to US$1,316.90 per ounce. The iron ore price fell by US$1 to US$122.90 a tonne. Ahead: In Australia no economic data is released. In the US, existing home sales are released. Craig James CommSec Chief Economist This commentary is a general account of the day's trading and is not intended to be taken as a recommendation to buy, hold or sell any particular stock. [ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ] |