Overseas Market Report – U.S. Stocks Struggle to Lift as Oil Dips
U.S. stocks finished modestly higher Tuesday but came under pressure from crude-oil prices, which were flirting with fresh multiyear lows.
The selloff in oil was weighing on energy and materials companies.
U.S. job openings rose to 5.43 million in November, according to the Department of Labor. This number was up from 5.35 million in October. Hires also rose to 5.2 million from 5.17 million.
The Dow closed up 0.7%, while the S&P 500 and the NASDAQ rose 0.8% and 1.0%, respectively.
McDonald's (MCD) shares were unchanged following reports that an antitrust complaint had been filed with the EU against the fast-food chain.
Airbus (EADSF) shares were down after the aircraft maker outsold Boeing BA in 2015 but reported a drop in net commercial plane orders.
Shares of Alcoa (AA) plummeted a day after issuing disappointing fourth-quarter results.
For Australian ADRs listed on the NYSE, BHP Billiton slipped 73 cents (3.41%) to $20.67, ResMed gained 81 cents (1.55%) to $53.13, Telstra Corporation lifted 23 cents (1.24%) to $18.81, Spark New Zealand gained 18 cents (1.73%) to $10.58 and Westpac added 43 cents (2.02%) to $21.73.
At 7:45 AM (AEDT), the 10-year Treasury note yield was 2.11% and the 5-year yield was 1.54%.
European shares were higher after China's market showed signs of stabilising.
The FTSE 100 closed up 1%, while the French CAC 40 and Germany's DAX rose 1.5% and 1.6%, respectively.
Asian markets ended mostly lower after a day of choppy trading.
The Shanghai Composite eked out a 0.2% gain, while the Nikkei 225 sank 2.7% and the Hang Seng dropped 0.9%. India's Sensex fell 0.6%.
Australian Market Report – Local Market Expected To Open Higher
Ahead of the local open, SPI futures were 29 points higher at 4,909.
Tuesday 12 January – close. The Australian market opened higher today on the back of gains on Wall Street overnight. However, local stocks failed to sustain early gains due to heavy falls in energy providers and the big miners. At close, the benchmark index closed slightly below the flat line, extending the losing streak to an eighth consecutive day. There were mixed results from the sectors; health care gained most significantly while energy and materials lagged behind the rest. The Australian dollar depreciated against most major currencies.
The All Ordinaries fell 8.50 points (-0.17%) to 4,982.20 while the S&P/ASX 200 dropped 7.10 points (-0.14%) to 4,925.10.
In This Issue
Whitehaven Coal (WHC)
Whitehaven Coal provided quarterly report for December 2015. The Company's TRIFR was 10.7 at 31 December 2015 compared to 8.6 at the end of the September 2015 quarter. Total coal sales for the December 2015 quarter were 4.9mt. It has achieved an average price of US$65/t from sales of metallurgical products in the December 2015 quarter. It expects the price for metallurgical coal products in the March quarter 2016 to be in the range of US$62/t to US$65/t. During the December 2015 quarter, the benchmark Newcastle thermal coal index averaged US$52.56/t. ROM production for the quarter was 2.464mt and for the half year was 3.462mt, higher by 220% and 21% respectively, compared to the pcp. The Company spent a total of $1.637m on exploration during the December 2015 quarter. WHC lost 3.5 cents (-5.65%) to $0.585.
Cromwell Property (CMW)
Cromwell Property announced an extension of its on market buy-back as part of its ongoing capital management. The buy-back period will continue until 20 January 2017 unless the maximum number of stapled securities is bought back or the Co. decides to cease the buy-back earlier. The buy-back has been extended because it remains important to the Co. to maintain the maximum amount of flexibility with regard to its capital management strategies in the current economic climate, particularly in times of heightened market volatility. Not more than 174,800,000 stapled securities, which is 10% of the Co's current issued capital, will be bought back during the extended buy-back period. The Co. will fund from its cash reserves and may also use the proceeds of any asset sales to fund the buy-back. CMW fell 0.5 cents (-0.50%) to $1.00.
Recent Contacts & Presentations
Empire Oil & Gas (EGO), Millennium Minerals (MOY), Geopacific Resources (GPR), Saracen (SAR), Agrimin (AMN), Salt Lake Potash (SO4), Reward Minerals (RWD), Transerv Energy (TSV), Carnarvon Petroleum (CVN), Success Resources (SGU), High Peak Royalties (HPR), Heron Resources (HRR), OBJ (OBJ), Goldfields Money (GMY), Hazer (HZR), MZI Resources (MZI)
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