Sydney, July 3, 2007 (ABN Newswire) - Australian shares could rise upon opening following a rally on Wall Street. Market action will likely centre on Wesfarmers and Coles Group once again; Southern Cross Broadcasting Australia could also be in focus after reports involving a takeover of the company.

On Monday, the ASX was down 12 points to finish at 6,263. On the futures market the SPI200 is up 55.

To currencies, the Australian dollar jumped to a fresh 18-year high in offshore trade against a broadly weaker US currency, which is under continuing pressure on expectations interest rates will remain steady. At 8:40AM the Aussie dollar is buying 85.94 US cents, on the crosses it's buying 105.15 yen, 63.04 Euro cents, and 42.58 British pence.

Shares in Macquarie Media, Fairfax Media And Southern Cross Broadcasting were all placed on a trading halt yesterday pending an announcement. There has yet to be an official announcement, but The Australian Financial Review is reporting that Macquarie Media Group and Fairfax Media are teaming up to takeover Southern Cross Broadcasting in a $1.26 billion deal. Apparently Macquarie Media will pay $17.41 a share for the broadcaster and will then sell its urban radio stations and television production unit to Fairfax for $500 million. Southern Cross' regional television stations will reportedly be merged into Macquarie's regional radio network. Southern Cross has frequently been citied as a possible takeover target after media ownership laws changed back in April. Takeover target Cross Broadcasting saw earnings eased slightly in 2006 after peaking the previous year.

Shares in BHP Billiton were up 0.06% to $35.05. The mining giant has finalised the sale of its Koornfontein coal mine in South Africa to a consortium of black investors for just over $61 million. The sale was first announced a year ago, but just closed on Sunday. The deal also includes 1.5 million tonnes of export capacity at the Richards Bay Coal Terminal. The move is part of an effort by South African businesses to involve more of the country's black majority in the mainstream economy. BHP is providing some vendor finance to help the consortium buy the mine. BHP Billiton posted record earnings in 2006.

Turning now to international markets; US markets rallied following a fresh round of takeover news and a surprisingly strong manufacturing reading; The Dow Jones Industrials gained 127 points, the S&P500 was up 16, and the Nasdaq added 29 points.

European markets closed down with lacklustre banks offsetting gains by oil producers amid security and interest rate concerns. London's FTSE was down 17 points; Paris dropped 28, and Frankfurt lost 49 points.

To Asian Markets; Hong Kong's Hang Sang was closed; Tokyo's Nikkei was up 8 points, and China's SSE Composite was up 16.

Back in the US, a sharply lower dollar and safe-haven buying amid heightened security concerns sent gold futures surging more than 1 per cent on Monday. Gold added $8.30 cents to $659.20 US an OZ for the spot contract on COMEX. Silver added 27 cents to $12.74. And copper was up 8 cents and is trading at $3.53.

And finally, oil added 41 cents to $71.09 for August light crude in New York.


Source: Finance News Network © 2007 http://www.finnewsnetwork.com.au

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