Sydney, Sept 12, 2007 (ABN Newswire) - Australian shares could be in for a positive start today, after US stocks rallied in New York. A jump in oil and base metal prices may also lift the Aussie resource sector.

On Tuesday the S&P/ASX200 was up 44 points to 6,236. The index has now rallied 14 per cent since hitting its 2007 intraday low almost a month ago. On the future's market the SPI200 is up 75.

Turning to currencies, the Australian dollar rose above 83 US cents this morning to its highest level in a month; and at 8:35 AM is buying 83.34 US cents, on the crosses the dollar is buying 95.29 yen, 60.23 Euro cents, and 41.01 British pence.

The full report is available at the following video and audio links.

Video Link

http://abnnewswire.net/fnnlnk/SXAP49IC


Audio Link

http://abnnewswire.net/lnk/90OAKF37


Making news headlines this morning is Santos. Shares in the Aussie oil and gas company were up 1.33% to $13 on Tuesday. International oil companies have their sights set on Santos' exploration project off India where the company is looking for deepwater hydrocarbons. The company has been approached by a number of supermajors to farm into the blocks. Its chief exec says they will evaluate seismic data from the area and then decide what to do, but he says its likely they'll let other companies in. Looking ahead Santos expects to begin producing gas from its Reindeer project in Western Australia in mid-2010. SANTOS saw earnings ease in 2006 from record heights the previous year.

OXIANA shares last traded up 1.22% to $3.31. The miner is still on the lookout for any good buys, with its chief executive Owen Hegerty saying it would even consider multibillion dollar company-transforming acquisitions. Previously Hegerty said the company would consider buying any assets put up for sale as part of Rio Tinto takeover of Alcan. Oxiana has also been cited as a possible merger partner with Zinifex. Despite actively looking for change, Hegerty told a conference in New York that Oxiana was not looking to sell itself. Oxiana earnings increased significantly in 2006.

And briefly, St. George Bank says it is on track to generate earnings per share growth in line with the company's expectations in fiscal years 2007 and 2008.

The S&P/ASX top 200 company trading ex-dividend today is ConnectEast with a 3.25 cent zero per cent franked dividend to be paid on the 1st of November.

To international markets, US markets rallied on positive news from the tech sector and as investors bet the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates next week. The Dow Jones Industrials rallied 181, the S&P500 was up 20 and the Nasdaq composite added 38 points.

European markets were stronger; London's FTSE climbed 147 points; Paris advanced 93, and Frankfurt jumped 82.

Asian stocks were mixed; Hong Kong's Hang Sang lost 47 points; Tokyo's Nikkei recovered 113, but China's SSE Composite plummeted 241.

Back to the US, gold futures hit a 13-month high on Tuesday, gaining $8.90 cents to $721.10 US an ounce for the spot contract on Comex, Silver added 14 cents to $12.84, copper was 13 cents firmer at $3.39.

And finally, Oil was up 74 cents to $78.23 for October light crude in New York.

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