IG Markets Morning Prices 14/4/11

IG Markets Morning Prices

Good morning,

On Wall Street overnight, US stocks finished the session slightly higher as the latest reading on retail sales came in roughly in line with expectations as President Obama delivered his plan for reducing the budget deficit by $4 trillion over 12 years. The Federal Reserve also confirmed economic growth remains moderate across-the-country.

The technology-laden NASDAQ was the standout performer, adding 0.6%. Elsewhere, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.1% and the S&P 500 finished flat on the session.

Domestically, the ASX 200 is called to open the session 0.5% weaker at 4887 despite relatively flat overnight leads The financial and material sectors were the biggest decliners, falling 0.8% and 0.6% respectively.

The financial sector came under pressure as investors sold down JP Morgan following their result. Overall, the result looked quite strong with earnings of $1.28/share versus expectations of $1.15. However, as the session developed the market focused on some weakness in their retail division despite strength in investment banking and asset management. It weighed on rivals with Wells Fargo, Citigroup and Bank of America all down between 1.1% and 2.2% respectively.

Whilst the bearish action will likely weigh a little on our local names, there may be some support for Macquarie given the strength in JP Morgan’s trading business. Elsewhere, the market will be keeping an eye on Bank of Queensland as it is due to report its first half earnings this morning.

The materials sector also came under pressure after all base metals fell between 0.6% and 2.4% in London Metals Exchange trade. In London equities trade, Rio Tinto outperformed, adding 0.1% after its full year iron ore production numbers came in slightly better-than-expected. BHP Billiton fell 0.2%. After the US session, BHP Billiton’s ADR is calling the locally listed stock to open 1.7% weaker at $47.74.

On the upside, there may be some support for energy and consumer discretionary names after the US sector rose 0.4% and 0.3% respectively. Crude Oil futures recovered a little following the recent selling, rising 0.2% to US$107.13/bbl.

In summary, it looks like the local market is set for a lower open as financial and materials names weigh on the broader index. There are a few minor economic releases due at 11.30am including MI inflation expectations and new motor vehicle sales

In currency markets, the AUDUSD had a pretty reasonable session overnight, rising to a high of 1.0537 before settling around the 1.05 level. Against the Euro, the US dollar rebounded slightly, pushing the cross down to 1.4440 from 1.4520 earlier as optimism from the Federal Reserve indicated the US recovery remains on track.

Market / Price at 8:00am AEST / Change Since Australian Market Close / Percentage Change
AUD/USD / 1.0498 / 0.0024 / 0.23%
ASX (cash) / 4887 / -25 / -0.50%
US DOW (cash) / 12254 / -38 / -0.31%
US S&P (cash) / 1312.7 / -3 / -0.25%
UK FTSE (cash) / 5999 / 9 / 0.15%
German DAX (cash) / 7165 / 32 / 0.45%
Japan 225 (cash) / 9575 / -45 / -0.47%
Rio Tinto Plc (London) / 44.09 / 0.05 / 0.12%
BHP Billiton Plc (London) / 25.40 / -0.04 / -0.16%
BHP Billiton Ltd. ADR (US) (AUD) / 47.74 / -0.84 / -1.73%
US Light Crude Oil (May) / 107.13 / 0.19 / 0.17%
Gold (spot) / 1456.5 / -1.45 / -0.10%
Aluminium (London) / 2643.00 / -17 / -0.64%
Copper (London) / 9448.00 / -232 / -2.40%
Nickel (London) / 26250.00 / -595 / -2.22%
Zinc (London) / 2428.00 / -42 / -1.70%
RBA Cash Rate to be raised by 25bp (May) (%) / 10.00 / 0 / 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.

Please contact IG Markets if you require market commentary or the latest dealing price.

ENDS

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