Sydney, Sept 10, 2007 (ABN Newswire) -
Australian shares could be in for a rough-ride today after US markets plummeted on fears the economy is headed for recession. Dealers say added pressure could come from a raft of companies trading ex-dividend today, we'll bring you the details at the end of this report.
The S&P/ASX200 was up 27 to 6,278 on Friday. On the future's market the SPI200 is down 100.
Turning to currencies, the Australian dollar has fallen below 83 US cents in offshore trade as a fresh bout of risk aversion sets in. At 9:00 AM the Aussie dollar is buying 82.32 US cents, on the crosses the dollar is buying 92.75 yen, 59.72 Euro cents, and 40.59 British pence.
Making news this morning is MACQUARIE BANK. Shares in the investment giant last traded up 0.28% to $71.39. Macquarie has solidified its intent to participate in Russia's booming economy, and has signed a co-operation agreement with a Russian development agency. The move came at the end of the APEC summit in Sydney. Macquarie and the Russian natural gas export monopoly OAO Gazprom also announced separate business intentions in Russia and Australia. Macquarie has experienced a record run of profits since 2003.
The full report is available at the following video and audio links.
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http://abnnewswire.net/lnk/8928IP77HARVEY NORMAN shares were up 0.36% to $5.60 on the ASX Friday. The retailer plans to revive its Norman Ross brand, according to the Australian Financial Review. After off loading the brand 25 years ago, the retailer will reportedly use the name for a chain of discount stores in New Zealand. Harvey Norman is also looking to expand in office stationary, flagging plans to open six stores within the next few months. Harvey Norman earnings have been on an upswing since 2003.
To international markets, US markets tumbled after the Labor Department reported that the economy unexpectedly shed 4,000 jobs in August, prompting concerns the country is heading to a recession. The Dow Jones Industrials plummeted 250, the S&P500 lost 25 and the Nasdaq composite dropped 49 points.
European markets tanked following the US; London's FTSE fell 122 points; Paris was down 147, and Frankfurt declined 185.
Asian stocks were all weaker; Hong Kong's Hang Sang shed 68 points; Tokyo's Nikkei was down 135, and China's SSE Composite back pedaled 116.
Back to the US ?gold jumped $5.10 cents to $709.70 US an ounce for the spot contract on Comex, Silver added 23 cents to $12.76, and copper ended 5 cents weaker and is trading at $3.25.
And finally, Oil was up 40 cents to $76.70 for October light crude in New York.
Source: Finance News Network © 2007
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