Australian shares outlook - Moderately higher led by resources sector |
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Published
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Fri, 01 Jun 2007 00:26
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SYDNEY (XFN-ASIA) - Share prices are expected to open moderately higher led by the resources sector following overnight gains in oil, gold and base metal prices, dealers said.But they said investors will be reluctant to make major changes to portfolios ahead of tonight's release of US nonfarm payrolls for May.The S&P/ASX 200 June futures contract ended its overnight session up 8.0 points at 6,340.0, suggesting a mildly positive start to trading.Yesterday, the S&P/ASX 200 ended 70.1 points or 1.12 pct higher at 6,313.5 while the All Ordinaries index added 70.1 points at 6,341.8.In New York, share prices ended slightly lower though investors shrugged off a lower second estimate of first quarter gross domestic product and looked to continuing merger and acquisition activity.The Commerce Department's latest estimate of first-quarter GDP was 0.6 pct, lower than the average economists' estimate of 0.8 pct and the 1.3 pct the government projected in April.The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended down 5.44 points or 0.04 pct at 13,627.64.News Corp fell 1.42 pct while National Australia Bank's American Depositary Receipts rose 0.47 pct.In London, share prices closed higher with resource stocks dominating the leader board amid some selective positioning by investors ahead of tonight's US jobs data.The FTSE 100 ended up 19.3 points or 0.29 pct at 6,621.4.BHP Billiton gained 1.65 pct and Rio Tinto advanced 0.96 pct.US crude oil prices firmed on Thursday, despite a surprise fall in crude inventories over the past week. The July crude contract rose 0.52 usd to 64.01 usd per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.Base metal prices were generally higher on the London Metal Exchange as China's share markets rebounded and supply concerns buoyed the market.Gold prices advanced in response to the US dollar weakening following the lower than expected GDP data. The June gold contract rose 7.90 usd to 66.10 usd an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange.(1 usd = 1.21 aud)bruce.hextall@xfn.comblh/mas
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Australia Q1 wage cost index up 1.0 pct from Q4, up 4.1 pct year-on-year 