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The Australian share market looks to open lower after US stocks slipped and iron ore continued to slide. Overnight Wall Street came under pressure following the release of the US Federal Reserve’s meeting minutes. The minutes highlighted concerns about inflation and recent financial market turbulence.
Across commodity markets the price of iron ore has fallen for the fifth straight day and slid another 3 per cent to below $US70 per tonne. Among the companies holding AGMs today are BHP Billiton Limited (ASX:BHP), Wesfarmers Limited (ASX:WES), Paladin Energy Limited (ASX:PDN), Goodman Group (ASX:GMG), Mirvac Group (ASX:MGR), ResMed Inc (ASX:RMD) and Sonic Healthcare Limite (ASX:SHL).
Global markets
Wall Street ended lower on Wednesday: The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.01 per cent to close at 17,686, the S&P 500 dipped 0.2 per cent to close at 2,049 and the Nasdaq fell 0.6 per cent to close at 4,676.
European markets closed mixed on Wednesday: London's FTSE 100 eased 0.2 per cent, France's CAC 40 added 0.1 per cent and Germany's DAX gained 0.2 per cent.
Asian markets finished in the red on Wednesday: Japan’s Nikkei fell 0.3 per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng sank 0.7 per cent, and China’s Shanghai Composite pulled back 0.2 per cent.
The Australian share market continued to slide yesterday and ended 0.6 per cent down at the session’s low: The S&P/ASX 200 index dropped 31 points to close at 5,369 on Wednesday. On the futures market the SPI is 10 points lower.
Currencies
The Australian dollar at 8:45am was buying $US0.8621, 54.98 Pence Sterling, 101.69 Yen and 68.69 Euro cents.
Company news
Westpac Banking Corporation (ASX:WBC) has knocked Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX:CBA) off the top spot for customer satisfaction. Roy Morgan reports Westpac scored the highest share of satisfied retail customers for the first time in a decade with a mark of 81.5 per cent. CBA came in a close second with 81.2 per cent followed by National Australia Bank Limited (ASX:NAB) at 81 and ANZ Banking Group (ASX:ANZ) at 79.9 per cent. Shares in Westpac Banking Corporation firmed 0.09 per cent to close at $32.79 on Wednesday.
ANZ Banking Group (ASX:ANZ) has stood down seven traders embroiled in investigations by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission until the probe is complete. ASIC’s investigations are focussed on the potential manipulation of the Australia’s benchmark interest rate. ANZ says this is a complex issue and ASIC’s investigation and ANZ’s investigation may not be complete for some time. Shares in ANZ Banking Group slipped 0.19 per cent to close at $31.77 on Wednesday.
Ex-dividends
Incitec Pivot Limited (ASX:IPL) paying a 7.3 cent, 10 per cent franked dividend
Naos Emerging Opportunities Company Limited (ASX:NCC) paying a 3 cent fully franked dividend
Whitefield Limited (ASX:WHF) paying an 8.5 cent fully franked dividend
Commodities
Gold has dipped $3.20 to $US1,194 an ounce for the December contract on Comex.
Silver has gained $0.12 to $16.29 for December.
Copper has firmed $0.04 to $3.04 a pound.
Oil has lost $0.03 to $US74.58 a barrel for December light crude in New York.
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