IG Markets Morning Prices

Good morning,

With US markets closed for the Martin Luther King Jnr. holiday overnight, local markets are likely to take their cue from European and Asian trade. In Europe, the pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index finished the session flat amid lower-volume trade as participants remained cautious ahead of the outcome of a euro zone finance ministers where changes to the region’s rescue fund will be hotly debated.

In the UK, the FTSE 100 index fell 0.3% due to weakness among the technology (-2.5%), financial (-1%) and basic materials (-0.8%) sectors. Given these leads, it’s highly likely we’ll some selling among local financial and material stocks, especially considering base metals on the London Metals Exchange were all down between 0.5% and 1.6%, with aluminium the worst performer. Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton fell 1.2% and 0.4% respectively in London equities trade.

Locally, the ASX 200 is called to open the session unchanged at 4761, although this lead is unlikely to be too accurate given the lack of US trade overnight.

News that Steve Jobs has taken medical leave-of-absence from his role as CEO of Apple rocked US sentiment even though market were closed; when they re-open it will almost certainly weigh on the technology sector.

Elsewhere, the other big concern for our market today will be Chinese trade. The Shanghai Composite fell the most in two months, losing 3% on concerns the Government’s efforts to slow in inflationary pressures will weigh on the nation’s growth rate. With Australia being so leveraged to China, any tightening measures over there act as a ‘pseudo’ tightening mechanism locally.

In summary, it doesn’t look like it’s going to be a brilliant session for the Australian market as the above headwinds weigh on sentiment. In currency markets, the euro posted its first fall in five sessions as ministers across the region met to discuss changes to the region’s rescue fund. The euro fell to a low of 1.3243 from highs of 1.3383 before stabilizing around the 1.3285 level. The AUDUSD made modest gains against the greenback in quiet trade and is currently trading at 0.9931, off earlier highs of 0.9967.

Market Price at 8:00am AEST Change Since Australian Market Close Percentage Change

AUD/USD 0.9934 0.0056 0.57%
ASX (cash) 4761 -2 -0.04%
US DOW (cash) 11760 1 0.00%
US S&P (cash) 1288.1 -2 -0.15%
UK FTSE (cash) 5987 -17 -0.28%
German DAX (cash) 7075 -9 -0.13%
Japan 225 (cash) 10514 21 0.20%
Rio Tinto Plc (London) 43.85 -0.52 -1.16%
BHP Billiton Plc (London) 24.67 -0.11 -0.44%
BHP Billiton Ltd. ADR (US) (AUD) closed - -
US Light Crude Oil (Feb) 91.02 -0.28 -0.31%
Gold (spot) 1361.6 -2.61 -0.19%
Aluminium (London) 2440.00 -40 -1.61%
Copper (London) 9600.00 -53 -0.55%
Nickel (London) 25800.00 -160 -0.62%
Zinc (London) 2440.00 -12 -0.49%
RBA Cash Rate to be raised by 25bp (Feb) (%) 4.00 -1.0 -1.00%

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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