Australian shares outlook - Higher after recovery on Wall Street |
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Published
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Wed, 28 Feb 2007 23:35
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SYDNEY (XFN-ASIA) - Share prices are expected to open higher following a partial recovery in New York after Tuesday's selloff sparked by Shanghai stocks falling sharply after a solid bull run, dealers said.They said signs of a recovery were apparent in late trading yesterday when a slide of about 3.5 pct in the market's value was halted and a partial recovery began.But dealers said investors will remain cautious as market volatility is likely to continue although fundamentals are sound.They said US Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke's comments overnight that there was nosingle trigger for the global equity correction and he had not changed his forecast for moderate US growth this year, will help soothe the market.The S&P/ASX 200 March futures contract ended its overnight session up 23.0 points at 5,825.0, suggesting a positive start to trading.Yesterday, share prices staged the biggest fall since the September 2001 terrorist attacks in the US.The S&P/ASX 200 closed down 161.3 points or 2.69 pct at 5,832.5, well below Monday's record close of 6,044.0. The index managed to end above the day's low of 5,786.8.Over February the key index remained up 59.1 points or 1.00 pct despite yesterday's sell-off and continued to hold a 2.9 pct gain for investors so far in 2007.The broader All Ordinaries index plunged 161.1 points or 2.70 pct to close at 5,816.5, also dropping further from the previous record finish of 6,021.9 set Monday.In New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average regained some ground following Tuesday's 416-point plunge. The index closed up 52.39 points or 0.43 pct at 12,268.63.News Corp closed down 0.13 pct while National Australia Bank's American Depositary Receipts added 1.59 pct.In London, shares remained under selling pressure with the FTSE 100 ending down 114.6 points at 6,171.5.BHP Billiton fell 2.81 pct and Rio Tinto lost 2.25 pct.Oil prices fell in early trade on Wednesday but rebounded later in the day as fears of slower global economic growth dissipated.US crude oil stocks rose by 1.4 mln barrels in the latest week, short of forecasts for a rise of 1.9 mln barrels rise. The April crude contract ended up 0.33 usd at 61.79 usd a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.The global correction moved to commodity markets on Wednesday.Base metal prices fell across the board on the London Metal Exchange with lead down 4.8 pct and copper off 3.5 pct on fears of slower global growth.Gold continued to give back recent stellar gains. The most active April Comex gold contract fell 14.70 usd or 2.1 pct to 672.50 usd an ounce.(1 usd = 1.27 aud)bruce.hextall@xfn.comblh/mas
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Hong Kong shares open higher in rebound after yesterday's tumble, Fed comments 