Overseas Market Report – U.S. Stocks End Modestly Higher
U.S. stocks were struggling to climb on Tuesday as the benchmark S&P 500 and the Dow attempted to move higher in a session marked by up-and-down swings.
Trading was choppy as investors continued to weigh the possibility of a rate hike in December.U.S. import prices fell 0.5% in in October from the previous month, the fourth decline in a row. Prices were down 0.3% excluding fuel. Over the last year, import prices have fallen 10.5%.
At the close, the Dow and S&P 500 were each up around 0.2% and the NASDAQ was off 0.2%.
For Australian ADRs listed on the NYSE, BHP Billiton slipped 7 cents (0.23%) to $29.87, ResMed fell 8 cents (0.14%) to $57.90, Telstra Corporation added 4 cents (0.22%) to $18.30, Spark New Zealand shed 2 cents (0.19%) to $10.69 and Westpac declined 1 cent (0.05%) to $22.05.
At 7:45 AM (AEDT), the 10-year Treasury note yield was 2.33% and the 5-year yield was 1.71%.
Shares of Valeant Pharmaceuticals (VRX) were down after the firm said in a call that it expected to feel a short-term impact in its business as it severs its recently controversial ties with specialty pharmacy Philidor. Management expects to create a plan to replace its relationship with Philidor within 90 days.
European markets were mixed.
The FTSE 100 was down 0.3%, the French CAC 40 was flat, while the German DAX was up 0.2%.
Asian shares were also mixed.
The Hang Seng was off 1.4%, the Shanghai Composite was down a more modest 0.2% and the Nikkei 225 rose 0.1%. India's Sensex fell 1.5%.
Australian Market Report – Local Market Expected To Open Higher
Ahead of the local open, SPI futures were 7 points higher at 5,083.
Tuesday 10 November – close. The Australian market plunged this morning, following negative leads from global equity and commodity markets. Local stocks pared part of early losses after hitting their intraday lows, led by a late rebound in the big banks. There were mixed results from the sectors; consumer staples gained the most while health care lagged behind the rest. The Australian dollar gained against most major currencies.
The All Ordinaries lost 22.60 points to 5,157.70 while the S&P/ASX 200 dropped 20.30 points to 5,099.20.
MMA Offshore (MRM)
MMA Offshore announced that the Company has been awarded a contract by Woodside Energy valued at A$50m. The Woodside Integrated Fleet Contract will see that the Company provides three vessels to support Woodside's offshore Northwest Shelf, Pluto and AusOil production assets in Australia's North West region. The Company also provided with trading update stating that the offshore Oil and Gas vessel market remained under significant pressure due to low oil prices and substantially reduced demand for services across all sectors of the market. As a result, the first four months of trading were lower than expected with market conditions unlikely to improve through FY2016. The Company continues to generate positive operating cash flows and expects to deliver EBITDA in the region of A$75-A$85m. MRM slumped 7.5 cents to $0.29.
Asciano (AIO)
Asciano announced that it has received the non-binding indicative proposal from Qube Holdings, Global Infrastructure Partners and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (the Qube Consortium) to acquire all of the issued share capital of the Company not already owned by the Qube Consortium. Under the proposal the Company shareholders will receive A$9.25 per share for every Company share held, less the value of any cash dividend declared by the Company prior to proposed Transaction being implemented. The Consortium notes the current plan, in respect of the Brookfield scheme and potential takeover offer to distribute the Company's franked dividends to shareholders and confirm it would be comfortable with a similar arrangement that could be developed in consultation with the Company. AIO added 26 cents to $8.99.
Recent Contacts & Presentations
Regis (RRL), Perseus (PRU), Saracen (SAR), Resolute (RSG), Troy (TRY), Gold Road (GOR), Agrimin (AMN), Wildhorse Energy (WHE), Reward Minerals (RWD), Berkeley (BKY), Matrix (MCE), Ausdrill (ASL), Hot Chilli (HCH), Austal (ASB), Southern Cross Electrical (SXE), AWE Limited (AWE), Sino Gas & Energy (SEH), Dacian (DCN), Empire Oil & Gas (EGO), FAR Limited (FAR), Central Petroleum (CTP), Fortescue Metals (FMG)
Please read Argonaut's Important Disclaimers & disclosures
Log in to the client area below to download the full Morning Note PDF
