Thursday, November 3, 2011

Australian share market on four-day losing streak

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THE Australian share market lost ground today for the fourth consecutive day as investor worries about Europe trumped a rebound in the US overnight.
The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index closed down 12.7 points, or 0.3 per cent, at 4,171.9, while the broader All Ordinaries index was 13.7 points, or 0.3 per cent, lower at 4,237.6.
On the ASX 24, at 1629 AEDT the December share price index futures contract was 12 points stronger at 4,181 with 36,735 contracts traded.
Trading volumes had been light and about 30 per cent below average values, with national turnover of 1.65 billion shares worth $4.25 billion, with 380 stocks up, 545 down and 357 unchanged.
Macquarie Private Wealth client adviser James Rosenberg said the level of today's light volumes had been the case for most days for the past few weeks.
While Europe's debt crisis was weighing on the market, a positive for Australia was talk about China allowing more credit liquidity, with Shanghai's stock market rising on Thursday subsequently, he said.

"We have a substantially greater reliance on what happens in China than what happens in Greece," Mr Rosenberg told AAP.
European leaders last week put together a deal to wipe 100 billion euros ($A133.17 billion) from Greek debt, as well as strengthen banks and doubling the firepower of the European Union bailout fund.
Greece is now planning to hold a referendum on the bailout package, including unpopular austerity measures, which has reignited concerns about the extent of the Greek debt fallout.
Locally, most sectors of the ASX were down, with gold companies and consumer discretionaries bucking the trend.
ANZ Bank reported a 19 per cent lift in full year profit to a record $5.36 billion, which was below expectations. The bank said market volatility and consumer caution was likely to be a factor for some time.
ANZ shares performed the worst of the major banks, closing 41 cents, or 1.96 per cent, lower at $20.49.
All the banks were softer, after earnings reports that had been slightly below expectations and "muted" outlook statements for credit growth, Mr Rosenberg said.
Wealth manager Perpetual retreated 56 cents to $20.74 after it forecast a drop in first half underlying profit due to weakening equity markets.
News Corporation lifted 70 cents, or 4.24 per cent, to $17.21, and its non-voting shares were up 59 cents at $16.77. The company maintained earnings guidance for 2011/12, after reporting a "great start" the current financial year.
Supermarket giant Woolworths rebounded and gained 52 cents to $23.91 after the competition watchdog admitted it might be tough to prove the company was abusing its market dominance by stocking more Home brand products.
Rival Wesfarmers - owner of Coles - lost 48 cents to $31.40.
Shares in Logistics group Brambles climbed six cents to $6.49 as it launched an aerospace division for its CHEP pallet business.
Building products maker Boral dropped eight cents to $3.60 after it said its first half performance in financial 2012 would be broadly similar to the second half of financial 2011.
Fashion retailer Country Road was untraded at $3.20 as it said sales so far this financial year were down and it expected difficult trading conditions to carry on through to Christmas.
On Wall Street on Wednesday, stocks rebounded after the US Federal Reserve's policymakers kept ultra-low interest rates and said they were prepared to do more if needed to stimulate the sluggish economy.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 178.08 points, or 1.53 per cent, to 11,836.04.

Source : http://www.heraldsun.com.au/business/australian-share-market-on-four-day-losing-streak/story-fn7j19iv-1226184966411

Today’s Market Movers: EK, HL, LGF And More

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It looks like stocks are attempting to stage a tepid attempt at rebounding from Monday and Tuesday's sell off this morning — but investors beware, nothing has really changed at this point. Europe remains a major problem for U.S. investors, and until that's actually resolved, investors should expect volatility to be a major concern in stocks.
This is a news-heavy week, with employment numbers and the result of the Fed's latest FOMC meeting hitting Wall Street today alone. With so many factors pushing stocks around, it's crucial to be tactical about stocks right now.
To that end, let's take a look at some of the small-cap stocks in play right now:
Eastman Kodak (NYSE:EK 1.125-0.075): This stock has been under fire in the last few weeks, as bankruptcy rumors swirl with an already anxious investor base. Forget the (still uncertain) fundamentals for a second — there's a trade shaping up in this stock for more advanced readers…
A descending triangle in shares makes EK a worthwhile short candidate, but only if shares can move below $1.10. That's the nearest support level of significance right now. If that breakdown happens, 75 cents is a high probability price target for the near-term.
Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL 6.420.26): Hecla is another small-cap name worth watching this week. Junior miners have been under pressure for much of the last quarter, and Hecla's chart gives a good example of what the industry is dealing with. Watch for a break above the upper trendline in Hecla. When that move happens, it could be marking a change in trend for this stock (and other junior miners as well).
Barring a technical shift in these names, we wouldn't be buyers of mining stocks right now…
Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. (NYSE:LGF 8.590.1): Lions Gate continues to ignore the market pullback, posting new 52-week highs this morning. Today's action builds on the accelerating uptrend that has been in place since mid-October. LGF could be a solid bet in the near future, but beware — this stock looks overbought today. Watch for a pullback or sideways consolidation before you make your move…
Penny Promotions
Raystream Inc. (OTC:RAYS): RAYS is one of the strongest promotions we've seen in months:
Aside from a couple of controlled dips, RAYS has drawn a stair-step chart — perfect for attracting unsuspecting new buyers. This heavily-promoted stock recorded another day of record volume Tuesday, leading me to believe that a shakeout could be coming soon. If you bought into this promotion, it would be wise to cash in your paper gains now.
Legend Oil & Gas (OTC:LOGL): A paid mailer making the rounds right now claims that LOGL could break $10 by the end of the year. At $2.60 per share and going nowhere, we would be shocked if the stock topped $3. Promotions for LOGL have been floating around since earlier this year, but the stock price appears to be too erratic to attract any buyers.

Sources: http://www.istockanalyst.com/finance/story/5517928/today-s-market-movers-ek-hl-lgf-and-more

Cues that will impact Indian market today

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Moneycontrol Bureau:
The US markets recovered from their day's lows to close higher with more than 1% gains after FED Chairman Ben Bernanke said that the FED may look to reinvest in mortgage backed securities to provide additional support to the weak housing market.
Stocks shaved their gains earlier after the FED slashed its growth forecasts and following a report that said the sixth tranche of loans to Greece may not be paid until after Greek referendum is held.
At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.53%, the S&P 500 index gained 1.61%, while the Nasdaq 100 index climbed 0.87%.
FED statement:
The FED leaves interest rates unchanged and announces that they are holding off on any new actions to aid the economy, but left open the possibility of taking further steps in the near future.
In addition, the FED cut its growth forecast to between 1.6 and 1.7% for 2011.
US economic data:
US private-sector employers added 110,000 jobs in October. Weekly mortgage applications rose last week,  as demand for both purchases and refinancing gained.
Data to watch out for:
Jobless claims for the week is expected to come out today. Consensus figures indicate a decline from 402,000 to 400,000.
Factory orders for September is expected to remain the same month on month.
Meanwhile, the ISM Manufacturing data for October is expected to indicate an uptick to 53.5 from 53.
Also productivity and costs data for the third quarter is expected to come out today. NPN Farm Productivity is expected to improve.
European markets:
European markets closed higher as the FED leaves the rates unchanged.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy says that the referendum must be a decision on whether or not Greece stays in the Euro.
The European Union in the meantime appears to be preparing for the worst, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said that the group will meet on Monday to discuss firewall options.
Meanwhile, European Union and the International Monetary Fund said they will consider the sixth tranche of Greece's loan after a Greek referendum on a new bailout plan.
Asian markets:
At 8:03 hours IST, Asian markets were trading lower after the sixth tranche of loans to Greece worth USD 178 billion was put on hold till early December referendum.
Hang Seng fell 432.25 points or 2.19% to 19,301.46 and Jakarta Composite declined 59.87 points or 1.59% to 3,703.17.
Straits Times slipped 39.85 points or 1.41% to 2,794.90 and Seoul Composite was trading at 1,873.22, down 24.79 points or 1.31%. Japanese stock market is shut today for public holiday.
Currency check:
Euro maintains its losses versus the dollar at 1.36 to the dollar. Meanwhile, dollar index hold steady above 77.
Commodities market:
Brent crude hovers around USD 109 per barrel levels while gold is at USD 1,730 an ounce in trade.
Local market:
Yesterday, the Indian markets displayed some resilience. The Nifty recovered from a weak start to close flat. The Sensex ended just 15 points in the red.
Stock specific action:
Diesel, LPG prices are set to rise again, EGOM will decide later this month.
AV Birla group weighs USD 5 billion bid for Australia's New Hope. The move may pit company against JSW Steel .
SAIL , POSCO have settled differences over Bokaro plant.
Steel companies are unlikely to hike prices this month.
GAIL will invest USD 1 billion in Shale Gas.
Power Grid is eyeing firms in South America.
Results today:
SAIL , Ashok Leyland , TVS Motor , Sun TV , Tata Teleservices Maharashtra , Jubilant Foodworks , Welspun Corp , and Prestige Estates will declare their results today.

Source : http://www.moneycontrol.com/news/market-edge/check-out-cues-that-will-impact-indian-market-today_610330.html