Overseas Market Report – U.S. Stocks Start December on High Note
U.S. stocks started December on a high note as expectations the European Central Bank would launch further stimulus measures later this week outweighed disappointing manufacturing data.
The ISM Index, which measures the strength of the U.S. manufacturing sector, slipped to 48.6 in November from 50.1 in the previous month. Economists had expected a slight increase to 50.5. The sub-50 reading indicates a contraction in manufacturing activity.
At the close, the Dow and NASDAQ were each up around 0.9% and the S&P 500 had risen 1.0%.
For Australian ADRs listed on the NYSE, BHP Billiton added 59 cents (2.23%) to $27.27, ResMed gained 21 cents (0.35%) to $59.78, Telstra Corporation lifted 67 cents (3.48%) to $19.97, Spark New Zealand rose 43 cents (3.92%) to $11.28 and Westpac increased 58 cents (2.49%) to $23.83.
At 7:45 AM (AEDT), the 10-year Treasury note yield was 2.15% and the 5-year yield was 1.59%.
Shares of General Motors (GM) and Fiat Chrysler (FCAU) were down after the firms reported a 1.5% and 3% year-over-year increase in November sales respectively. Ford (F) sales were unchanged, despite a 10% rise in F-Series truck sales.
European stocks were mixed on Tuesday.
The French CAC 40 was off 0.9% and Germany's DAX fell 1.1%. The FTSE 100 was up 0.6% after U.K. bank stocks rallied after the Bank of England's stress tests showed they would not need to take on additional capital.
Asian markets were higher.
The Shanghai Composite, Nikkei 225 and Hang Seng were up 0.3%, 1.3% and 1.8%, respectively. India's Sensex was up 0.1%.
Australian Market Report – Local Market Expected To Open Higher
Ahead of the local open, SPI futures were 3 points higher at 5,267.
Tuesday 1 December – close. The local market opened higher today despite a moderate fall in the US market overnight. The positivity continued throughout the day as the local investors piled back into oversold blue chip stocks, with the big banks and the miners providing consistent gains. There were strong results from all the sectors; especially consumer staples which gained most significantly. The Australian dollar appreciated against most major currencies.
The All Ordinaries rose 94.40 points to 5,312.60 while the S&P/ASX 200 rose 99.60 points to 5,266.10.
In This Issue
AGL Energy (AGL)
AGL Energy announced on 8 October 2015 that it had secured long-term gas storage rights utilising the Iona Gas Storage Facility. The Company confirmed that it has entered into a 15-year Gas Storage Services Agreement (GSSA) for the provision of gas storage services from the Iona Gas Storage Facility, to be owned and operated by a consortium managed by QIC on behalf of its managed clients and funds. This consortium takes ownership of the gas storage assets from Energy Australia on 1 December 2015. The GSSA will provide the Company to optimise its gas supplies by storing gas during low demand periods for re-use during peak demand periods. The GSSA will result in more than a 30% reduction in the Company's costs to manage seasonal demand when compared to the Company's equivalent contracted costs. AGL added 28 cents to $16.83.
Sandfire Resources NL (SFR)
Sandfire Resources announced that construction of the new 10.6MW solar power station at its 100% owned DeGrussa Copper Mine in WA has reached a key milestone with installation of the first solar photovoltaic (PV) panels underway. The innovative $40m project which is the largest integrated off-grid solar and battery storage facility in Australia will consist of 34,080 solar PV panels covering a total area of over 20ha at a site located immediately adjacent to the DeGrussa underground mine and processing plant. Installation of the solar PV modules is anticipated to be completed early in the 2016. The overall construction schedule for the DeGrussa Solar Power Project is on track for delivery of first electricity from the facility during Q1 of CY 2016. SFR lost 2 cents to $5.24.
Recent Contacts & Presentations
Tox Free Solutions (TOX), AWE Limited (AWE), Ausdrill (ASL), GR Engineering (GNG), Medusa (MML), Resolute (RSG), Kingsgate (KCN), Troy (TRY), Northern Star (NST), Sandfire (SFR), Regis (RRL), Saracen (SAR), Sino Gas & Energy (SEH), Dacian (DCN), Buru Energy (BRU), Carnarvon Petroleum (CVN), Otto Energy (OEL), Empire Oil & Gas (EGO), FAR Limited (FAR), Central Petroleum (CTP), Senex Energy (SXY)
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