ASX Stock Report 13-4-10

1. Early selling market -13.2points by 10.10am. Then again post 1pm, market lost any leads from yesterday as commodities lost value across the board.

• ASX 200 4951.6 -0.66%

• SPI Futures 4964.0 -0.86%

2. BHP $43.84 -1.37%; RIO $79.50 (-1.44%), Gold Spot –US$11.45/oz LGL $3.92 -1.51%; NCM $34.41 -1.49%, Oil spot –US$0.68/barrel STO $14.64 -1.88%; ORG $16.75 -1.41%

3. ABS lending finance data for February; commercial finance +5.6% – revolving credit commitments +13.7% and fixed lending commitments +2.9%, owner occupied lending -4.4%, personal finance +0.7% – fixed lending commitments +1% & revolving credit commitments +0.4%. Lease finance commitments +0.8%.

4. NAB business conditions index +6points to 13pts. Strongest since November 07, on improved employment forecasts, capacity utilisation and stronger eco growth forecasts. – WSJ

5. Energy: Coal – KRL $0.19 -2.56% Indonesian Coal resources; 1) Thermal Coal GPK project 84.82% owned. Commencing production 25KTp.m. Margin $20/T; expecting 1-2MT p.a.CY10 & +10MT p.a. within three years. 2) Mamahak Coking project inherited 30KT stockpile ready for immediate shipping, have exposed 15KT of fresh resource for mining. Initial production 30KTp.m. margin $50/T. Infrastructure capable of 1.5MTp.a. Production JORC resources 10.22MT. 3) New m’ment looking to unlock value.

6. MTE $0.305 -3.17% finding a level market after being up 40% over a week.

7. Santos signs Gas sale and Purchase agreement with Wesfarmers Energy WES $32.28 -0.28%. Five year contract for 60 Petajoules of gas, sourced from John Brookes gas field offshore WA. Commence 2H CY10

8. Energy: Uranium – EXT $7.83 -0.89%; BKY $1.52 +0.66%

9. ERA $18.52 -5.94%; -27% 1Q uranium output, expected from lower grade resource.

10. Over the past 12 months, the price of uranium has hovered between USD 55.00/lb and USD 40.00/lb, and is currently priced around USD 41.75/lb; the latest peak was seen in mid-2009 at around USD 54.00/lb.

11. The Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development paints a healthy growing demand for uranium, especially in the longer term, and the World Nuclear Association reckons that where mine supply was about 44,000 tonnes (about 20% each from Canada, Kazakhstan and Australia) in 2008, demand is likely to increase to 74,000 tonnes by 2015

12. OneSteel $3.96 -3.41% blast furnace failure leading to production stoppage.

13. Industrial Services: DOW $7.44 -2.75%; AAX $4.75 -0.84%; BLY $0.345 -2.82%; TOL $7.50 +0.4%

14. MAH $0.815 -3.55% awarded $90M rail contract, 16th March awarded $190M contract to operate Cameby Downs coal in QLD.

15. Leighton $37.85 -0.24% JV contract with Abigroup to upgrade Gateway motorway QLD. $240M contract extension. Also awarded $940M adjustment from Energy Resources to increase production at Ukhaa Khudag coal mine in Mangolia.

16. South Korean Hyundai Merchant Marine contract with Brazil and Australian iron ore shipment, translates to $315M in sales for 2010-2015. is a 15yr contract. 50:50 JV with Far East Marine Group.

17. Healthcare: SIP $0.515 (-0.96%) SHL $14.48 (+1.54%) ISF $0.58 (-1.69%) PRY $4.25 (+1.92%)

18. TLS $3.19 (+2.9%) drove up telecoms.

19. Utilities: EWC 0.50 +3.09%; APA $3.70 +1.65%; AGK 15.38 (+1.18%)

20. Retail: US based discretionary’s FXJ $1.775 (-1.39%) NWS $18.95 (-1.3%) ALL $4.55 (-1.09%) WDC $12.17 (+0.08%)

21. Retail auto sellers performing well off the back of rebounding industry. Car sales YoY March +25.2% (from last week). Super Cheap Auto $5.11 (+0.2%) Automotive Holdings $2.60 (-1.52%) ARB Corp $5.72 (+0.35%)

Stock Market Report 19-1-10

US markets were closed for the Martin Luther King Day.

Major US companies reporting later this week include the Bank of America, Citigroup, Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, IBM, General Electric and Google.

European shares rose, lifted by a rally in mining and oil shares on the back of firmer commodity prices.

National benchmark indexes gained in all of the 18 western European markets, except Greece, Iceland and Luxembourg. Across Europe, Britain’s FTSE 100, Germany’s DAX and France’s CAC 40 rose between 0.7% and 0.8%.

Trading was subdued, as US markets were closed for the Martin Luther King Day. Volumes on the European index were just 65% of its 90-day daily average volume.

Miners topped the gainers’ list as commodity prices advanced. BHP, Anglo American, Antofagasta, Rio Tinto, Xstrata and Eurasian Natural Resources rose between 1% and 4%.

Cadbury rose 1.8% on media reports that the Kraft Foods will increase its offer to at least 820 pence per share. Kraft Foods must make a revised bid for Cadbury by Tuesday. The Hershey Co., which is reportedly working on a possible bid as well, has until Saturday to make a bid under UK takeover rules.

International Power dropped 3.4% after saying talks with GDF Suez on combining some assets are no longer continuing. The biggest UK-based electricity producer had earlier rallied on speculation that GDF Suez is considering a tie up with International Power that may lead to a partnership.

Greece’s ASE Index slid 2.5%. Finance ministers from the 16 nations using the euro are meeting in Brussels as Greece struggles to cut a 2009 budget deficit that may reach almost 13% of GDP. Among notable movers, Titan Cement, Greece’s largest cement maker, sank 7.9%. Alpha Bank, the country’s third-largest bank, tumbled 7.7%.

L’Oreal, Nokia and Zodiac Aerospace advanced on analyst upgrades. L’Oreal added 2.1%, Nokia was up 1.6% and Zodiac Aerospace gained 5.4%.

Overseas Markets

FTSE up 39 pts to 5,494 (5,454 – 5,504)

Nikkei down 127 pts to 10,855 (10,781 – 10,895)

Shanghai SE Comp up 13 pts to 3,237 (3,202 – 3,238)

Rio Tinto plc up 0.89% to A$63.68 eq.; a 19% discount to prev Aust close A$78.32

BHP plc up 1.47% to A$36.54 eq.; a 16% discount to prev Aust close A$43.44

Commodities

WTI Oil down 1.8% to US$78.00/bbl

Gold up 0.3% to US$1,134/oz

Silver up 1.2% to US$18.64/oz

Platinum up 1.4% to US$1,622/oz

Currency

A$ / US$ down 0.5USc to US$0.93 /A$

EUR / US$ down 1.1USc to US$1.44 /EUR

GBP / US$ down 0.1USc to US$1.63 /GBP

US$ / Yen down 0.5 Yen to 90.74 Yen/US$

Stock Market Wrap 7-10-09

Buoyed by an encouraging lead from overseas, the Australian market started strongly but soon began to shed its gains, and lost more steam after the RBA’s rate hike. The All Ordinaries finished Tuesday 18 points higher.

The S&P/ASX 200 also closed 18 points up. The Materials sector rose, with BHP Billiton (+$0.33), Rio Tinto (+$0.88) and Newcrest (+$0.76) climbing while Fortescue (-$0.19) fell. The Energy sector gained, with winners including Origin (+$0.28), Santos (+$0.13), Oil Search (+$0.10) and WorleyParsons (+$0.75); Woodside (-$0.43) bucked the trend and declined. The Financials sector saw gains in Westpac (+$0.51), ANZ (+$0.20), Westfield (+$0.24) and Macquarie Group (+$1.05); however, Commonwealth Bank (-$0.18) and National Australia Bank (-$0.11) dipped. The Industrials sector saw Brambles (-$0.20) fall while Leighton Holdings (+$0.83) and Macquarie Airports (+$0.08) rose. Losers in the Consumer Discretionary sector included Harvey Norman (-$0.11), Aristocrat (-$0.25), Fairfax (-$0.06) and David Jones (-$0.30). In the Healthcare sector, CSL (-$0.45) and ResMed (-$0.14) softened.

The Reserve Bank raised the cash rate by 0.25% to 3.25%. Graincorp (in trading halt) is to acquire global malt manufacturer United Malt Holdings for an enterprise value of $757M. The acquisition is to be funded by a 9-10 entitlement offer at $5.65ps and institutional placement raising a total of $589M, and a US$200M debt facility. Graincorp also upgraded its FY09 NPAT guidance to a range of $60M-$63M and said it will pay a dividend equivalent to 15cps per existing share. Brambles’ CEO will retire from his role on 1 November 2009. Brambles’ strategic review of its North American CHEP operations endorsed the continued use of wooden pallets and an improvement in customer service.

US Stock Markets

US stocks extended a worldwide rally, on speculation third-quarter earnings will top estimates and growing conviction the global economy is improving.

Market breadth was positive. On the NYSE, winners topped losers by almost four to one. On the NASDAQ, advancers topped decliners two to one.

The stock advance was broad-based, with 29 of 30 Dow stocks rising as investors piled into a variety of stocks battered in the recent sell-off. Investors welcomed reports that Australia became the first major economy to lift interest rates since the start of the financial crisis.

Producers of energy and raw materials had the two biggest advances in the S&P 500 among 10 industries, rising around 2%. Alcoa and Newmont Mining climbed at least 3.5%, while Exxon Mobil gained 1.6% as crude advanced.

The MSCI World Index of 23 developed countries added 1.9%, the most in two months.

In company news, Boeing said it will take a US$1B charge in the third quarter because of higher costs to produce its 747-8 airplanes and tough market conditions. The stock was little changed and was the only Dow stock to not advance.

Alcoa is scheduled to release third-quarter results on Wednesday, the first company in the Dow average to report earnings. General Electric and Intel are among the Dow and S&P 500 companies that will report in the next two weeks. Analysts expect companies will report a ninth straight quarter of declining profits before returning to growth in the final quarter.

ASX200 Stock and CFD 30-09-09

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The SFE Futures down 12 points overnight. BHP and RIO in ADR form overnight, BHP up 0.30% and RIO up 0.21%. BHP was down 0.58% and RIO down 0.60% in the UK. BHP closed at the equivalent of 3781c, down 18c on last night’s close. Metals mostly up on LME Copper down 0.57%, Nickel up 2.37%, Zinc up 0.27%, Aluminium up 1.06%, Lead up 1.24% Oil price down 13c to $66.71 Gold up 30c to $994 Bonds up 10 year yield at 3.292% down from 3.302%  A$ down 87.12c versus 87.27c yesterday morning. CRB Commodities index up 0.08% VIX Volatility Index up 1.25%

 Market trades in narrow range on light volumes. Fourth fall in five sessions. Better-than-expected S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Report for July. The report’s 20 City Composite Index showed a 13.3% year on year decline, which was not as bad as the 14.2% decline that was expected. US house prices increased by 1.2% in July from June, above expectations and the indicator’s largest intermonth gain since October 2005. Seventeen of the 20 cities surveyed for the index reported increased prices in July, led by a 3.1% jump in Minneapolis and a 2.9% gain in San Francisco.  Larger-than-expected decline in Consumer confidence. September Consumer Confidence Index fell to 53.1 from 54.5 in August. Market was looking for a reading of 57.0. Market sold off on news. Home Depot fell 1.6%. MBIA down 4.7% after S&P cut the credit ratings of the world’s biggest bond insurer.  Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer said corporate information-technology budgets will remain at their current relatively low levels. Intel down 1.3%, Dell down 3.2% and Microsoft down 0.3%. On the positive side drug retailer Walgreen up 9.2%. Best single-session percentage advance in six months after the company posted better than expected quarterly earnings. Boosted other consumer staples stocks.

 The market is down 11. The SFE Futures were down 12 this morning.

ASX200 Stock and CFD Report 24-09-09

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The SFE Futures down 28 points overnight. BHP and RIO in ADR form overnight, BHP down 2.00% and RIO down 1.52%. BHP was down 1.02% and RIO up 0.97% in the UK. BHP closed at the equivalent of 3779c, down 56c on last night’s close. Metals mainly weaker on LME Copper down 2.26%, Nickel up 0.73%, Zinc down 2.24%, Aluminium down 0.81%, Lead down 2.21% Oil price down $2.85 to $68.70 Gold down $1.10 to $1014 Bonds up - 10 year yield at 3.418% down from 3.456%. A$ down 86.84c versus 87.36c yesterday morning. CRB Commodities index down 1.01% VIX Volatility Index up 1.78%

• Market finished close to its intra-day low. Interest Rates remain unchanged. Following a two day policy meeting, the FOMC left rates unchanged at 0.00-0.25% and added they would keep short-term interest rates at historically low levels near zero “for an extended period”. FOMC policy statement indicated that economic activity has ‘picked up’ since their last meeting in August but added unemployment is likely to influence consumer spending, to add to lower household wealth and tight credit solutions. FOMC went on to say that it will purchase $1.25 trillion of agency mortgage backed securities and $200 billion agency debt, but it will gradually slow the pace of purchases to promote a smooth transition in markets. Financials - down 2.1% – led the market lower. JP Morgan down 3.0% and Citigroup down 2.8% Moody’s down 8% on reports that US state regulators were reviewing whether to create an organization for grading insurers’ bond holdings, potentially negatively impacting Moody’s Investors Service and Standard & Poor’s revenue streams.Materials down 2.0%

The market is down 11. The SFE Futures suggested a 28 point fall.

ASX200 Stock and CFD Report 8-09-09

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The SFE Futures up18 points overnight. BHP and RIO were up 2.37% and 2.03% in the UK Metals stronger overall on the LME Copper up 0.81%, Nickel up 0.60%, Zinc down 1.05%, Aluminium up 0.94%, Lead up 1.79% Oil price steady in Europe ahead of OPEC on Wednesday (likely to leave production quotas unchanged) A$ up 85.55c versus 85.21c yesterday morning. Main Drivers…with Wall street closed the focus was on Europe A weekend agreement by G20 finance ministers and central bankers to keep economic stimulus measures in place for longer added to the positive sentiment. Kraft Foods Inc. made an unsolicited bid for U.K. confectioner Cadbury PLC overnight. Cadbury UP 38%. Cadbury has rejected the bid but Kraft said it is committed to working toward a recommended transaction and to “maintaining a constructive dialogue.” Lonmin Plc rallied on press reports that Xstrata Plc was readying a bid for the company. Deutsche Telekom AG gained on market talk it would some sell off its UK operation. German manufacturing orders rose strongly in July, above economists’ forecasts.

The market is up 44. The SFE Futures were up 18 this morning. Companies hitting fresh yearly highs this morning include: ARB Corporation (ARP), Brockman Resources (BRM), Lion Nathan (LNN), SMS Management (SMX) and Toll Holdings (TOL).

The A$ hit 85.55c overnight on talk that the RBA will be the first Central Bank to increase interest rates as early as next month. Talk of the A$ hitting 90c next month and Parity next year as the US retain a low interest rate environment for the foreseeable future and we raise rates to more “normal” levels (thought to mean around 6%).

Baltic Dry Index – more than a snap-back rally

The Baltic Dry Index – a measure of freight rates for iron ore and bulk commodities – rose non-stop for 23 sessions until Wednesday, before declining somewhat yesterday. This surge represents a gain of 517% from its low on December 5. But one needs to put this in perspective: the Index fell by 94% from its high in May 2008, and therefore still needs to rise by a further 188% to match the previous peak.

More importantly, this rise seems to be more than a snap-back rally and points to better economic tidings. This becomes apparent when considering the close relationship between China’s Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) for New Export Orders and the Baltic Dry Index, showing both indices turning sharply higher.

Source: Plexus Asset Management (based on data from I-Net Bridge)

Also, the improvement in China’s PMI (with the composite Index back in expansionary territory above 50) and the Baltic Dry Index is consistent with the improvement in the Metals Index.

Source: Plexus Asset Management

Iron-Ore Price Negotiations

Rio Tinto has reached agreement with Japan’s Nippon Steel on JFY10 iron ore prices.

The agreement is as follows:

Iron ore fines – US¢97/dmtu down 33% from US¢145/dmtu

Iron ore lump  US¢112/dmtu down 44% from US¢202/dmtu

(dmtu – dry metric tonne unit)

We had assumed price reductions of 35% for fines and 40% for lump, hence the contract prices are roughly in line with what we had expected. We believe the result is ahead of consensus expectations which ranged from 30-50% reductions for both fines and lump. The removal of the contract pricing uncertainty should also be a positive for most of the iron ore companies.

The biggest leverage to the news (aside from BHP and RIO) is FMG and MGX, the largest of the independent iron ore producers. AGO and MMX should also benefit from the removal of the uncertainty surrounding prices. Our preferred pick is FMG.

ASX Stock and CFD Report 12-05-09

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The SFE Futures suggested a 51 point fall in the market. BHP and RIO down in ADR form overnight – 2.57% and 2.44% respectively. (BHP closed at the equivalent of 3503c, down 25c on yesterday’s close.) Metals all down overnight – Copper down 2.56%, Zinc 0.84% and Aluminium 0.32%. Nickel down 2.66%. Oil price down 79c to $57.79. Gold down $1.40 to $913.50. Bonds up with the 10 year yield down to 3.1736%. A$/US$ down to 75.90c.

Last week the banks had massive rallies so a pull-back is not a surprise – Wells Fargo was up 43.7% last week alone and JP Morgan was up 19.9%. Multiline Insurers and life and health insurers were hit the hardest – down 7.5% and 10.5% – down on the continuing debate over healthcare reform and the impact it will have on the industry. Tech stocks just up – Microsoft down 0.5% as they announced they will be raising cash through a debt issuance – didn’t reveal what amount they would raise, but last September noted they could take on up to $6bn in debt – Microsoft has $25bn in
cash. Telecom stocks comprised the only sector making a mentionable gain – AT&T will buy $2.35bn in assets from Verizon. Energy stocks down on the lower oil price after Fridays strong session – Occidental Petroleum down 3.7%. Ford Motors announced a public offering of 300m shares of common stock to partly fund the retiree health care trust.

The market is down 58. The SFE futures suggested a 51 point fall in the market this morning. Most sectors down. Resources and industrials getting hit the hardest – down 2.3% and 2.8%. BHP and RIO down 2.6% and 1.2%. Property trusts doing OK – up 0.2%. Energy  stocks down 1.7% after recent strong gains. Gold stocks mixed – NCM and LGL actually up despite the lower gold price overnight.

ASX Stock and CFD Report 11-5-08

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The SFE Futures suggested a 44 point rise in the market. BHP and RIO both up in ADR form Friday – 4.79% and 2.64% respectively. (BHP closed at the equivalent of 3523c, up 1c on Friday’s close.) Metals mostly down Friday – Copper down 0.53%, Zinc down 1.89% and Aluminium down 1.47%. Nickel up 0.27%. Oil price up $1.91 to $58.58. Gold down 60c to $914.90. Bonds up with the 10 year yield down to 3.2856%. A$/US$ up to 76.85c.

Financials up 8.3% – The 10 banks needing to raise more capital in-line with the government’s stress testing are choosing a number of avenues to do so – capital raisings involving common stock and preference shares and asset sales seem to be the popular choices. The Bank of America is utilizing all three methods – will raise $17bn in a common stock offering, with the balance of the $34m needed through preferred stock to equity conversions and asset sales. Wells Fargo will issue common stock to the tune of $7.5bn, will retain earnings
(cut dividend) and make operational expense cuts. Citigroup will convert more than previously announced preferred stock to common equity. GMAC will likely issue common stock and increase capital further by issuing mandatory convertible preferred stock or do something with the conversion of existing equity.Energy strong – up 4.2% on the higher oil price.Defensive stocks underperformed – telecom companies down 0.4% – AT&Tdown on reports about a deal to buy $2.5bn in assets from Verizon.

Not the best of starts to the week – down 22 – considering the SFE Futures suggested a 44 point rise in the morning. Financials started off well but have since gone backwards. Macquarie Group has gone ex dividend 40c. Santos has had a $3bn capital raising and Pacific Brands $256m adding to last week’s $5bn call on the market from Macquarie, Bluescope Steel, Alumina and GPT.

ASX Stock and CFD Report 8-05-09

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The SFE Futures suggested a 21 point fall in the market. BHP and RIO both down 1.3% in ADR form overnight (BHP closed at the equivalent of 3436c, down 134c on yesterday’s close.) Metals mostly down overnight – Copper down 0.84%, Zinc down 0.88% and Aluminium down 0.19%. Nickel up 0.62%. Oil price up 38c to $56.67 on signs that the US economy might be showing some signs of recovery. Gold up $4.50 to $915.50. Bonds down with the 10 year yield up to 3.3341%. A$/US$ up to 75.43c.

Tech stocks down 3.2% – Cisco Systems posted better-than-expected earnings for the quarter and gave upside guidance. Semiconductors down 5.9%. A government $14bn 30-year bond auction was poorly received by investors,
pushing yields up on both the 30-year bond and the 10-year bond. Government treasuries are falling out of favour at the current offered rates. Retailers down 1.3% despite monthly same-store-sales being broadly better-thanexpected.
Wal-Mart posted April same-store sales up 5.0% but said they would decline to announce monthly same-store-sales going forward – also gave downside revenue guidance for the 1Q. Consumer staples up 0.4%. Utilities up 0.6%.
Healthcare stocks up 2.5% – managed healthcare companies up 8.1%. CBS Corp posted a $55m loss in the 1Q - missed expectations – closed up 1%. Down 11% after hours.

The market is down 23. The SFE Futures suggested a 21 point fall in the market this morning. The ASX is holding up well in light of the 1.2% fall in the US overnight. US Financials putting on a bit after-hours has helped. Resources down 1.5% after their stellar run yesterday – BHP down 2.2%. Rio relatively unchanged. Banks mostly up – NAB up 1.4%.

ASX Stock and CFD Report 6-05-09

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The SFE Futures suggested a 10 point rise in the market. BHP and RIO both down in ADR form overnight – 1.26% and 1.95% respectively.(BHP closed at the equivalent of 3445c, down 3c on yesterday’s close.) Metals mostly up overnight – Copper down 1.52%, Zinc up 0.99% and Aluminium up 0.32%. Nickel up 0.36%. Oil price down $0.64 to $53.81 – Inventories are expected to reveal oversupply and undermine some of the recent confidence around the energy sector. Gold up $2.10 to $904.30. Bonds down with the 10 year yield up to 3.162%. A$/US$ up to 74.27c. Energy stocks down 1.3% as the oil price fell 1.2% – oil exploration companies down 3.8%.

Material stocks down 0.6% – steel stocks down 1.8% – AK Steel cut its guidance. Healthcare stocks down 0.6% – did better towards the end of the session led higher by managed health care companies (+4.8%) and pharmaceuticals (+1.1%). Pulte Homes posted a 1Q loss but much improved on last year. Kraft buoyed the Dow with better-than-expected results. General Motors is considering offering shareholders a reverse stock split – one share of new stock for every 100 owned. Financials down 1.2% – not bad considering the 10% rally yesterday. Investors skittish on the banks and fund managers leading up to the stress-test results. KeyCorp and Fifth Third Bancorp down 5% each. Legg Mason fell heavily on news that investors pulled out $44bn from its funds in the March quarter.

The market is down 33 – up 17 at best. The SFE Futures suggested a 10 point rise in the market this morning. Financials. property stocks and industrials up early but all dropped into the red before noon. Resources and energy stocks down after their decent run yesterday. BHP and RIO down 2.3% and 2.0%.

ASX Stock and CFD Report 4-5-09

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The SFE Futures suggested a 23 point rise in the market. BHP and RIO both up in ADR form Friday – 2.70% and 5.56% respectively. (BHP closed at the equivalent of 3375c, up 75c on Friday’s close.) Metals up Friday – Copper up 3.81%, Zinc 6.32% and Aluminium 3.01%. Nickel up 1.88%. Oil price up $1.83 to $52.18. Gold down $3.00 to $888.20. Bonds down with the 10 year yield up to 3.1523%. A$/US$ up to 73.04c.

In a move to stimulate the flow of credit to the real economy, The Fed said commercial mortgage backed securities and securities secured by insurance premium finance loans could be used as collateral under the TALF plan. Warren Buffett said not all the banks operate under the same business model as Citigroup and that Citigroup,s losses have distorted investor perception about US banks – he said banks like Wells Fargo as much better positioned to ride out the recession. Energy stocks up 3.1% after being down 2.1% Thursday. The natural gas price was up 5.1% Friday and oil was up 3.6%. Chevron reported earnings down over 50% from the year before – but still finished up 1.2% the session. Industrials up 1.1%. Material stocks up 0.3%. Boeing, Caterpillar, and Alcoa all up on the better consumer confidence figures and better-than-expected manufacturing data. Ford said April sales were down 31.6% on-year. General Motors said April US sales were down 3.4% on-year.

Good start to the week – our market is up 72 – more than triple the 23 point gain the SFE Futures predicted this morning. Macquarie is out of its trading halt and down 4%. Resources and Banks doing well. Economists expect the RBA to leave rates at 3% when it meets tomorrow.

ASX Market Report 30-04-09

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BHP and RIO both up in ADR form overnight – 5.22% and 7.45% respectively. (BHP closed at the equivalent of 3294c, up 67c on yesterday’s close.) Metals up overnight – Copper up 4.42%, Zinc 5.30% and Aluminium 1.46%. Nickel
up 3.53%.Oil price up $1.18 to $50.19 on the hope of an economic recovery in the second half of the year, despite the massive accumulation of 4.05m boe during last week. Gold up $6.90 to $900.50. Bonds down with the 10 year yield up to 3.1102%. A$/US$ up to 72.65c.

US Financials up 4.8% – investors are still nervous about reports saying 6 out of 16 banks still require more capital to boost their balance sheets. The government releases the results of their stress testing on May 4th. Diversified financials up 5.8% with diversified banks up 3.7%. The Bank of America had its AGM – unhappy shareholders are currently voting on 11 measures relating to the takeover of Merrill Lynch and the banks underwriting the
deal – they want to sack CEO Ken Lewis. Citigroup is struggling to find a way to retain employees – CEO Vikrim Pandit has been speaking to Treasury’s Timothy Geithner about paying employees some type of bonus to stop discouraged executives getting scooped up by other firms.

The market is up 82 – strong day. The SFE Futures suggested a 35 point rise in the market this morning. Most sectors up. Resources up 2.9%, Industrials up 2.6%, Financials up 2.5% and Property up 2.9%. Banks all up 2-3% with NAB leading the way. BHP and RIO up 3.0% and 3.7%. Westfield has had a positive quarterly report. Lihir has had a record quarterly report. The research on Fortescue Metals isn’t too flash after its production downgrade yesterday. Alumina (AWC) has taken advantage of recent share price rises to pop out a $1bn deeply discounted equity issue.

ASX Market Report 29-04-09

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The SFE Futures suggested a 29 point rise in the market. BHP and RIO both down in ADR form overnight – 1.18% and 5.67% respectively. (BHP closed at the equivalent of 3213c, up 5c on yesterday’s close.) Metals down overnight – Copper down 3.68%, Zinc 2.33% and Aluminium 0.69%. Nickel down 4%. Oil price down $0.28 to $49.01. Gold down $14.60 to $893.60. Bonds down with the 10 year yield up to 3.0082%. A$/US$ down to 70.635c.

JP Morgan was up a couple of percent early in the session but finished relatively unchanged. Financials dragged on the markets for most of the session, but the higher-thanexpected consumer confidence figures from the Conference Board gave a lift to the broader market. Telecom stocks rose the most – up 1.2% – Verizon announced it is looking at
some ventures with other firms to develop its advanced generation mobile phones. IBM upped its quarterly dividend by 5c to 55c per share and announced a $3bn stock repurchase – despite the positive news, the tech stocks closed 0.6% down. IBM was up 2%. Biotech stocks up 0.8% – healthcare stocks up 3.6% – Hospira and Coventry Health posted better-than-expected quarterly results. Pharmaceutical stocks down 0.8% despite Pfizer and Bristol-Myers Squibb
announcing solid earnings over the quarter.

The market is down 18. The SFE Futures suggested a 29 point rise in the market this morning. Financials down 1.5%. Banks all down. ANZ down 6% on lower-than-expected 1H results. Resources down 0.8%. Industrials and property up 0.2% and 0.5%. Energy stocks doing well despite the fall in the oil price overnight.

ASX Market Report 27-04-09

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The SFE Futures suggested a 43 point rise in the market. BHP and RIO both up in ADR form Friday – 1.80% and 1.93% respectively. (BHP closed at the equivalent of 3287c, up 82c on Friday’s close.) Metals up Friday – Copper up 2.95%, Zinc 0.21% and Aluminium 0.62%. Nickel up 1.76%. Oil price up $2.19 to $50.65. Gold up $7.50 to $914.10. Bonds down with the 10 year yield up to 2.9921%. A$/US$ up to 72.28c.

Materials up 4.4% – Freeport McMoRan up 4.5% and Xstrata up 14.3%. Anglo up7.3%. Financials up 2.5% after being up 4.4% mid afternoon. The government released details regarding the measures used for the stress-testing of 19 of the US’s biggest banks – the results of which are due May 4th. American Express led the financials up – up 20% on better-than-expected quarterly earnings. Fed reserve policymakers will meet Tuesday for a two-day meeting to assess economic conditions and the effectiveness of programs in place. They will consider expanding or adapting the intervention measures. Tech stocks did well – Amazon up 4.78 % helping the Nasdaq to outperform. Microsoft’s earnings were in-line with expectations. Ford’s loss wasn’t as bad as expected – said they have no plans to request
government assistance. The Wall Street Journal reported Chrysler is preparing to file for bankruptcy.

The market is up 56. The SFE Futures suggested 43 point rise this morning. Most sectors up. Resources up 2.2% with BHP and RIO up 2.0% and 1.5%. Property stocks up 2% and Financials up 1.6% – Banks all up ahead of the NAB and ANZ interim results this week. Copper, nickel and zinc companies up on the higher metal prices Friday. So far we are
ignoring Swine flu concerns although Biota is up 70% and Qantas down 3.8%.

ASX Market Report 23-4-09

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The SFE Futures suggested a 12 point fall in the market. BHP and RIO mixed in ADR form overnight – BHP down 1.22% and RIO up 5.13%. (BHP closed at the equivalent of 3204c, up 55c on yesterday’s close.) Metals mostly up overnight - Copper up 0.73%, Zinc down 0.34% and Aluminium up 0.69%. Nickel up 0.17%. Oil price up 76c to $47.41. Gold up $9.80 to $892.50. Bonds down with the 10 year yield up to 2.9397%. A$/US$ down 0.09% to 70.47c.

Morgan Stanley down 9% posting a larger-than-expected $578m loss over the quarter – noted a deterioration in the commercial real estate market. The loss was also comprised largely from an improvement in the value of its own debt. They also announced a dividend cut. Bank of America down 5.7%. Wells Fargo did well for most the session but closed down 3.4% – earnings fell inline with their guidance but beat analyst’s expectations - they also posted higher credit losses. The better-than-expected earnings came largely from increased mortgage revenue. AT&T up 1.82% – the US’s biggest telecommunications carrier – surpassed analyst,s expectations with strong results across its wireless business. Yahoo! up 0.70% as it plans to cut 700 jobs – earnings were down 78% for the quarter but better-than-expected.

The market is up 42. The SFE Futures suggested a 12 point fall in the market this morning. Strong performance this morning after yesterday’s mixed session. Resources up 1.3% – BHP and RIO up 1.5% and 5.4%. Financials up 0.9%. Property down 0.6%.Industrials down 0.2%.

ASX Market Report 21-4-09

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The SFE Futures suggested a 71 point fall in the market. BHP and RIO both down in ADR form overnight – 7.31% and 9.97% respectively.  (BHP closed at the equivalent of 3176c, down 112c on yesterday’s close.) Metals all down overnight – Copper down 4.47%, Zinc 4.62% and Aluminium 3.10%. Nickel down 5.85%. Oil price down $4.54 or 9% to $45.82. Gold up $19.60 to $887.50. Bonds up with the 10 year yield down to 2.8360%. A$/US$ last traded at 69.67c.

Diversified Financials down 15%. Energy and material stocks down on the lower oil price and a big fall in metals
prices overnight. Sun Microsystems is being taken over by Oracle after IBM said it had no intentions to return to discussions about a deal – Oracle will pay $9.50 per share, a 40% premium to the last close price. SUN up 36% overnight. Oracle down 1.2%. PepsiCo will buy the remaining stake in Pepsi Bottling Group fro $29.50 per share and
Pepsi Americas for $23.27 per share – premiums of about 17% respectively. PepsiCo down 4.35%. IBM reported quarterly results after market – sales were down 11% on-quarter but profit was up more than expected – $1.70 per share verses the $1.66 per share expected. IBM down 1.5% after hours. IBM gave a bullish outlook. In other earnings news, Eli Lily & Co down 2.3% despite a 24% rise in quarterly sales.

The market is having a shocker – down 104- on the back of Wall Street’s horror session overnight. The Dow Jones fell 289. The SFE Futures predicted a 71 point fall this morning. It’s a sea of red with all sectors going backwards.

ASX Market Report 20-4-09

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Dow up 5. Up 65 at best. Down 39 at worst. A major bank make positive comments about the housing market and we saw some encouraging results including both Google and GE who both topped earnings expectations. Financials led the way as Citigroup.s result wasn.t as bad as expected. A bit of interest around as volumes were the highest in a month.

• The SFE Futures suggested a 33 point rise in the market.
• BHP and RIO both down in ADR form Friday . down 1.1% and 3.37% respectively. (BHP closed at the equivalent of 3308c, down 33c on Friday.s close.)
• Metals all up Friday . Copper up 1.61%, Zinc 4.01% and Aluminium 0.27%. Nickel up 3.01%.
• Oil price up 39c to $50.36.
• Gold down $11.90 to $867.90.
• Bonds down with the 10 year yield up to 2.9470%.
• A$/US$ down 0.18% to 72.34c.
• Citigroup down 9% Friday (still up 21% for the week) . the negative quarterly EPS figure was not as bad as expected, but they predicted that losses will increase in the 2Q and said they don.t anticipate credit costs to decrease from prior forecasts. The market obviously realized that it was a change in accounting rules which assisted in the bank.s better-than-expected numbers.
• General Electric up 1% - posted quarterly earnings above expectations restoring some confidence after recent concerns regarding the financial viability of GE Capital and their dividend and rating cut.
• The White House said it will support Congressional efforts to clamp down of credit card fraud.
• Google up nearly a 1% after quarterly results topped expectations . it reported record high adjusted earnings.
• Housing stocks up on the positive comments from BB&T.
• Exxon Mobil displaced Wal-Mart to no. 2 on the 2009 Fortune 500 list . a closed watched list that ranks companies by their revenues.

The market is down 41. The SFE Futures suggested a 33 point rise in the market this morning. Resources doing the damage . down 2.1% – BHP and RIO down 2.3% and 4.1%. Financials down 0.7% despite the solid performance in the US Friday. Australian 1Q Producer Prices fell more than expected . down 0.4% – market was expecting a 0.6% rise in the 1Q.

Tricom Today Australian Stock Market Report 16-4-09

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The SFE Futures suggested a 38 point rise in the market. BHP and RIO mixed in ADR form overnight – BHP up 1.95% and RIO down 1.69%. (BHP closed at the equivalent of 3337c, down 17c on yesterday’s close.) Metals all up overnight – Copper up 2.55%, Zinc 5.56% and Aluminium 0.13%. Nickel up 5.49%. Oil price down 25c to $49.26. Gold up $1.50 to $893.50. Bonds up with the 10 year yield down to 2.7653%. A$/US$ down 0.04% to 72.79c.

Technology stocks underperformed. Financials up 5.6% – best performing sector. JP Morgan up 6% ahead of their results tomorrow. Fed’s Beige book said the pace of economic contraction is slowing. Intel beat earnings expectations. The administration announced the first 6 companies who would be participating in the $75bn program designed to save struggling home owners from losing their homes. The government said certain mortgage companies would receive a maximum of $9.9bn to encouraged them to lower monthly repayment obligations for the those struggling with home loans. Technology stocks down 0.7% – most the large caps were down. Intel’s results were
better than expected and they said that the bottom for the personal computer market was now behind them. Google was up ahead of its quarterly results tomorrow.

The market is up 53. The SFE Futures suggested a 58 point rise in the market this morning. Resources just up – BHP unchanged. Copper and Zinc both up over 5% last night and the respective metal stocks are flying again today. Property trusts all up. Financials up nearly 2%. Banks all doing well after another strong night in US financials. Industrials up 2.5% with the majors all up.