IG Markets Morning Prices

Good morning,

On Wall St overnight, US stocks finished the session modestly firmer after shrugging off earlier losses on concerns the proposed tax plan currently under consideration in Washington would spur growth and overheat the economy. The US dollar rose and Treasuries hit a six-month high.

For the session, the NASDAQ and S&P 500 were the best performers, both adding 0.4%. Elsewhere, the concentrated Dow Jones Industrial Average could only manage a rise of 0.1%.

Locally, the ASX 200 looks likely to open 0.3% higher at approximately 4713 following the positive overnight leads.

In terms of sectors, it was a mixed contribution in US markets as strength among financial and tech names offset materials and energy weakness. Hence, we’re likely to see most of today’s gains coming from the financial sector. The US financial sector was the best performer, adding 1.6% as a steeper yield curve, between short- and long-term bonds benefits banks. Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, Bank of America and Wells Fargo were all up more than 2.6%.

Elsewhere, outside some minor support among consumer staples and technology names, it’s hard to see where other gains may appear.

Offsetting these gains is likely to be some weakness among material names despite some strength in base metal prices. On the London Metals Exchange, base metals were all up between 2.1% and 4.3% but in normal London trade, Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton saw selling, losing 3% and 2.1% respectively. BHP Billiton’s ADR is calling the locally listed name flat at $44.85.

Gold stocks are likely to see some pressure after gold futures retreated 0.8% overnight to be trading around the US$1381.6/oz level.

In summary, it’s likely to be a relatively mixed day, albeit with a slight positive bias as expected strength among financials is largely offset by falls among materials and energy names. After the open, traders will quickly turn their attention towards the 11.30am release of the latest employment reports. The market is expecting 21,300 new jobs to be created and the unemployment rate to fall to 5.2% from 5.4%. Any wild variations from these figures could see the AUD react accordingly.

Overnight, the AUDUSD continued to lose ground as the US dollar rallied, falling to a low of 0.9752 before stabilizing around the 0.9789 level. Elsewhere, the EURUSD is unchanged at 1.3262, although it did hit an intra-session low of 1.3180 before recovering.

Market Price at 8:00am AEST Change Since Australian Market Close Percentage Change
AUD/USD 0.9789 0.0000 0.00%
ASX (cash) 4713 13 0.28%
US DOW (cash) 11365 32 0.28%
US S&P (cash) 1227.6 7 0.61%
UK FTSE (cash) 5803 17 0.30%
German DAX (cash) 6982 7 0.10%
Japan 225 (cash) 10270 43 0.42%
Rio Tinto Plc (London) 43.70 -1.35 -3.00%
BHP Billiton Plc (London) 24.28 -0.53 -2.14%
BHP Billiton Ltd. ADR (US) (AUD) 44.85 -0.01 -0.03%
US Light Crude Oil (Jan) 88.47 0.73 0.83%
Gold (spot) 1381.0 -11.4 -0.82%
Aluminium (London) 2368 97 4.27%
Copper (London) 8987 212 2.42%
Nickel (London) 24170 620 2.63%
Zinc (London) 2282 46 2.06%
RBA Cash Rate to be raised by 25bp (Feb) (%) 3.00 -2.00 -2.00%

IG Markets provides round-the-clock CFD trading on currencies, indices and commodities. The levels quoted in this email are the latest tradeable price for each market. The net change for each market is referenced from the corresponding tradeable level at yesterday’s close of the ASX. These levels are specifically tailored for the Australian trader and take into account the 24hr nature of global markets.

Please contact IG Markets if you require market commentary or the latest dealing price.

ENDS

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