Australian shares outlook - Lower on weaker Wall St |
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Published
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Mon, 30 Apr 2007 23:58
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SYDNEY (XFN-ASIA) - Share prices are expected to open lower following a retreat in New York where profit-taking set in after last week's record breaking run, dealers said.They said the start of the month may see the old adage 'sell in May and go away' ring true.The S&P/ASX 200 June futures contract ended its overnight session down 17.0 points at 6,107.0, suggesting a weak start to trading.Dealers said the banking sector is likely to be in focus today with Australia's fifth largest bank, St George Bank, due to report what is expected to be lackluster first-half results.The Sydney-based bank is heavily exposed to the housing market in the state of New South Wales which has borne the brunt of a slowdown in the Australian housing sector.Yesterday, the S&P/ASX 200 ended up 14.4 points or 0.23 pct at 6,166 while the All Ordinaries index gained 17.3 points to close at 6,158.3.In New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 58.03 points at 13,062.91.News Corp fell 1.44 pct while National Australia Bank's American Depositary Receipts closed down 0.48 pct.In London, share prices ended firmer with Cable & Wireless a big gainer on reports of a possible break-up. The FTSE 100 edged up 30.5 points or 0.48 pct to 6,449.2.BHP Billiton gained 0.36 pct while Rio Tinto added 0.36 pct.US crude oil prices fell on Monday as fears of an attack on Saudi oil facilities eased. On Friday Saudi Arabian authorities announced that they had foiled an Al-Qaeda-linked plot to attack the country's oil facilities. The June crude contract fell 0.75 usd or 1.13 pct to settle at 65.71 usd per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.Base metal prices were little changed on the London Metal Exchange. Zinc rebounded 2.4 pct after falling on Friday while nickel lost 1.3 pct after rising 3.6 pct on Friday.The price of gold ended higher as investors monitored a nationwide strike in Peru, the fifth largest gold producer in the world. The June gold contract rose 1.70 usd to 683.50 usd an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange.(1 usd = 1.20 aud)bruce.hextall@xfn.comblh/mas
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Asian shares close mixed, Tokyo lower on Wall St 