The Market is up 15. Dow Jones was down 42. SFE Futures were down nine this morning.

The Dow was down 134 at worst and up two at best on stronger economic data and comments from the ECB about the Euro rise being a concern. Weekly jobless numbers were down 5000 to 366,000 in the latest week. The forecast was for 360,000. Productivity was down 2% in the December quarter which was softer than the expected 1.3%. ECB President Mario Draghi caused some concerns with comments post the ECB Meeting (left rates on hold at 0.75%) about the impact of a rising Euro on European recovery although he also points out that a strong Euro is a sign of renewed confidence. He also noted a reduction in inflation — seen by some as a comment designed to jawbone the Euro down. The Euro fell. US$ hit one month high. Apple up 2.97% as they say they will consider hedge fund investor comments that with that much cash the stock should yield 8%. Best sectors — Consumer Goods (+0.4%) and Utilities (+0.2%).Worst sectors — Basic Materials (-0.6%), Energy (-0.5%), Financials (-0.5%), Health Care (-0.4%) and Telecoms (-0.4%). The US 10 year bond yield was down 2bpts to 1.94%. European markets mixed – UK FTSE down 1.06%, Germany DAX up 0.13%, France down 1.15%, Spain down 0.52%, Italy down 1.22%. Spot iron ore unchanged at $155.10. Gold down $5.80 to $1671.90. Oil down 81c to $95.81. The A$ made hit a three month low last night against the US$ of 103.84c.

  • As expected the RBA has shaded their forecasts for GDP growth this morning in their Monetary Policy statement to between 2%-3% 2013 down from 2.25%-3.25%. The forecast for GDP growth in 2014 is 2.25%-3.25% unchanged from the November Statement.
  • Newcrest Mining (NCM) — Interims — Profit of $320 million down 51% but above an expected $306 million. Interim dividend of 12c vs an expected 15c. NCM is up 3.66% to 2423c.
  • AGL Energy (AGK) — Halts CSG expansion plans due to community concerns.
  • Flight Centre (FLT) — Announced plans to open their first shop in Dubai and has opened shops in Hong Kong and Singapore as part of their global expansion plans. FLT is down 0.41% to 3121c.
  • Telstra (TLS) didn’t react much to its results yesterday but then jumped during the analyst’s briefing as Thodey talked about there being scope to increase the 28c dividend. TLS ended up 6c at 464c. The stock his a multi year high of 469c on Monday. Lot of HOLD/NEUTRAL recommendations this morning. TLS is down 0.32% to 462.5c.
  • Sundance Resources (SDL) — The Hanlong takeover has been delayed another 6 months. SDL is down 12.5% to 29.75c.
  • Chinese markets closed next week for the Lunar New Year