IG Markets Morning Prices

Good morning,

On Wall Street overnight, the major indices finished the session modestly higher after upbeat earnings and rising commodity prices boosted investor confidence. In Europe, news that the ECB had been aggressively buying Portuguese debt and that Japan would also buy debt pushed markets to 28-month highs.

The S&P 500 added 0.4% while both the NASDAQ and Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.3%.

Locally, the ASX 200 is called to open the session 0.3% firmer at 4725 following the positive overnight leads from equity markets and commodity prices.

It should be the energy and material sectors that lead the local market higher this morning after commodity prices had a good session overnight. The energy sector was the top performer in US trade, rising 1.7% after crude oil futures jumped 2.4% to US$91.35/barrel after a production platform in the Gulf of Mexico was shut down and there was no word on when a Trans Alaska pipeline System would be restarted.

There should be buying support among the miners today after base metals on the London Metals Exchange were all up between 0.1% and 2.2%, with Nickel the best performer. In London equities trade, both Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton had strong sessions, adding 1.3% and 1.8% respectively. On the back of further strength in the US session, BHP’s ADR is calling the locally listed stock 1.2% firmer at $45.16. Gold names should be supported after the precious metal rose 0.4% to US$1381.90/oz.

Elsewhere, there should be strength among financial and industrial names after the respective sectors both added 0.4% in US trade. Bank shares were boosted after Societe Generale upgraded European banks to overweight, saying it believes the sector can achieve more profitability than the market expects. Bank of America added 2% while JP Morgan, Citigroup and Wells Fargo were all higher between 0.5% and 0.6%.

In summary, it looks like the domestic market is finally set to post a higher open this morning despite all of the concerns in Queensland. On the data front, we’ll get the latest reading on new home loans, with the market expecting a decline of 0.9%.

In currency markets, the AUDUSD managed to stabilise overnight following yesterday selling during the Asian session. It’s trading around the 0.9870 mark after hitting an overnight low of 0.9819. The EURO received a modest boost too, rising to 1.2974 from lows of 1.2904

Market Price at 8:00am AEST Change Since Australian Market Close Percentage Change
AUD/USD 0.9875 0.0028 0.29%
ASX (cash) 4725 14 0.29%
US DOW (cash) 11673 20 0.17%
US S&P (cash) 1274.2 3 0.26%
UK FTSE (cash) 6008 22 0.37%
German DAX (cash) 6948 72 1.04%
Japan 225 (cash) 10550 35 0.33%
Rio Tinto Plc (London) 44.46 0.57 1.30%
BHP Billiton Plc (London) 25.19 0.45 1.82%
BHP Billiton Ltd. ADR (US) (AUD) 45.16 0.55 1.24%
US Light Crude Oil (Feb) 91.35 2.14 2.40%
Gold (spot) 1381.9 5.55 0.40%
Aluminium (London) 2491.00 0 0.00%
Copper (London) 9520.00 110 1.17%
Nickel (London) 24700.00 525 2.17%
Zinc (London) 2407.00 17 0.71%
RBA Cash Rate to be raised by 25bp (Feb) (%) 5.00 0.0 0.00%

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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