IG Markets – Morning Prices

IG Markets – Morning Prices 24 August 2010

IG Markets – Morning Prices

On Wall St overnight, US stocks finished in the red for the third straight session as strong earnings and further M&A activity failed to offset ongoing concerns over the economic slowdown. The market digested acquisition offers from the likes of HP and HSBC in London, with 3M also saying they were likely to spend US$2 billion on corporate activity before the year is over.

The tech heavy NASDAQ was the worst performer, down 0.9% while the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 both declined 0.4%.

The local market is called to open 0.5% lower at 4407 following the weaker overnight leads. The material and industrial sectors were the worst performers in US trade, both down 1.1%.

Other leads for the materials sector were mainly bearish with metals on the London Metals Exchange all closing the session in the red. In normal London trade, Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton added 0.6% and 0.5% respectively, but that couldn’t help BHP Billiton’s ADR calling the locally listed stock to open 1.2% softer at $37.65.

With speculation doing the rounds that both Sinochem and Vale are in discussions with Potash Corp., some traders are worried that BHP Billiton may become embroiled in a bidding war for the Canadian based company, eventually overpaying for the asset.

Elsewhere, the consumer discretionary and financial sectors also detracted, finishing the day 0.9% and 0.7% softer respectively. Despite another fall of 1.5% in the Crude Oil price, the energy sector managed to hold its own, finishing the trading session flat.

In summary, weak leads and the continued political uncertainty are likely to see the local market come under selling pressure as markets globally continue to price in a sharp slowdown in the US economy. In terms of earnings, we’ll hear from Aristocrat Leisure, Flight Centre, AWE and Origin Energy.

Market Price at 7:00am AEST Change Since Australian Market Close Percentage Change
AUD/USD 0.8915 0.0009 0.10%
ASX (cash) 4407 -22 -0.51%
US DOW (cash) 10175 -53 -0.52%
US S&P (cash) 1067.1 -6 -0.57%
UK FTSE (cash) 5219 9 0.16%
German DAX (cash) 6004 -9 -0.15%
Japan 225 (cash) 9049 -64 -0.70%
Rio Tinto Plc (London) 33.03 0.19 0.56%
BHP Billiton Plc (London) 18.30 0.09 0.49%
BHP Billiton Ltd. ADR (US) (AUD) 37.65 -0.46 -1.20%
US Light Crude Oil (Oct) 72.96 -1.08 -1.45%
Gold (spot) 1226.0 -3.5 -0.28%
Aluminium (London) 2044 -12 -0.58%
Copper (London) 7274 -2 -0.03%
Nickel (London) 21201 -424 -1.96%
Zinc (London) 2046 -20 -0.97%
RBA Cash Rate to be raised by 25bp (Sep) (%) 3.00 0.00 0.00%

IG Markets provides round-the-clock CFD trading on currencies, indices and commodities. The levels quoted in this email are the latest tradeable price for each market. The net change for each market is referenced from the corresponding tradeable level at yesterday’s close of the ASX. These levels are specifically tailored for the Australian trader and take into account the 24hr nature of global markets.
ENDS


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