The Australian sharemarket poised to open higher, on the back of a strong lead from overseas markets.
What you need2know:
• SPI futures up 25 pts at 5428
• AUD at 89.83 US cents, 97.69 Japanese yen, 69.53 Euro cents and 54.85 British pence.
• In the US, S&P +0.5%, Dow +0.6%, Nasdaq +0.7%
• In Europe, Euro Stoxx 50 +1.1%, FTSE +0.6%, CAC +0.8%, DAX +1.4%
• Iron ore slips 1.4% to $US83.00 per metric tonne
• Spot gold up 0.2% to $US1226.52 an ounce
• Brent oil is 1.3% lower at $US97.69 per barrel
What’s on today
Scotland vote on independence, RBA Bank Bulletin, US August leading index, NZ ANZ September job ads
Stocks to watch
Goldman Sachs has a “sell” recommendation on TPG Telecom and a 12-month price target of $4.50 a share in the lead up to the release of the full year 2014 results on September 23.
Goldman Sachs has kept a “sell” recommendation on Atlas Iron after a site visit and a 12-month price target of 40¢ a share.
Citi Research cut Premier Investments to “sell” from “neutral” and moved the target price to $9.40 a share from $9.00.
Citi Research has a “sell” on hearing implant producer Cochlear and a target price of $45.78 compared with a current trading price above $67.
Currencies
The US dollar strengthened to a six-year high against the yen after the Federal Reserve raised its target interest-rate forecast on Wednesday, underpinning the divergence in monetary policy between the US and Japan. The greenback rose 0.3 per cent to 108.70 yen at 1:36pm New York time and reached 108.96 yen, the highest since September 8, 2008. The Japanese currency dropped 0.7 per cent to 140.39 per euro. The dollar weakened 0.4 per cent against the euro to $US1.2915 after appreciating to $US1.2835, the strongest level since July 2013.
Commodities
Citi Research notes that the National Development Reform Commission (NDRC) announced details of long awaited new coal restrictions. “As we had anticipated, the regulations are far milder for coal imports than the market had feared. In fact, they are likely to have a greater impact on domestic supply, supporting Chinese prices. We expect domestic and imported producers able to meet the new ash and sulfur standards to benefit, with importers in particular likely to benefit in the Southern China ex-Pearl River Delta region.”
United States
US jobless claims decreased by 36,000 to 280,000 in the period ended September 13, the Labor Department said on Thursday. The median forecast of 52 economists surveyed by Bloomberg called for a decline to 305,000. Those already collecting unemployment benefits fell to a more than seven-year low.
The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index advanced 0.4 per cent to 2009.45 at 1:31pm in New York. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 89.65 points, or 0.5 per cent, to an all-time high of 17,246.50. The Nasdaq Composite Index and Russell 2000 Index gained at least 0.5 per cent.
Europe
Europe’s stock markets have risen, boosted by hopes the US central bank will keep its monetary policy loose and expectations that Scotland will vote to stay part of the United Kingdom.
London’s benchmark FTSE 100 index added 0.57 per cent to 6819.29 points and the British pound surged as investors awaited the results of Scotland’s historic independence vote. Frankfurt’s DAX index jumped 1.41 per cent to 9798.13 points, while in Paris the CAC 40 rose 0.75 per cent to close the day at 4464.70 points.
Asia
Tokyo’s Nikkei stock index has risen 1.13 per cent to its highest close since early January, with a sharply weaker yen boosting exporter shares. The benchmark Nikkei at the Tokyo Stock Exchange added 178.90 points to end Thursday at 16,067.57, putting the index within reach of last year’s closing high. The broader Topix index of all first-section issues rose 0.99 per cent, or 12.95 points, to 1317.91.
Asian stocks outside Japan fell after the Federal Reserve raised its estimates for interest rates. The MSCI Asia Pacific excluding Japan Index lost 0.6 per cent to 492.20 as of 4.27pm Thursday in Hong Kong, while South Korea’s Kospi index declined 0.7 per cent.
What happened yesterday
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index added 0.2 per cent on Thursday to 5415.8 points, while the broader All Ordinaries Index edged up 0.1 per cent to 5419 points. Reversing the trend seen earlier in the week, three of the big four banks lifted, propelled by the promise of ongoing global liquidity, while the biggest miners fell.
Local shares had dipped in early trade despite taking a positive lead from the US, where the S&P 500 pushed back above 2000 points and the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at a record high of 17,156.9 points after Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen provided reassurance that record low interest rates are likely to remain on hold “for a considerable time” yet.
Wires
