The market is up 56. The SFE Futures were up 51 this morning.

Wall St. closed up 127 overnight. The Dow index was up 156 at best and down 1 at worst and hit a 2009 high. Metals were up strongly and the oil price put on $1.09 to $78.37. Gold closed up $18 to $1199.10 and the Aussie dollar climbed to 92.49c versus 91.52c yesterday morning. Economic data came in better than expected and Japan’s central bank said it would pump more than $US1500bn into its financial systems to assist its economy.

In the news today…

  • The RBA raised interest rates yesterday by 25bps for the third consecutive month. The general expectation is that it will continue to raise rates (currently at 3.75%) to 5.5% by the end of next year.
  • Caltex Australia (CTX) will find out today whether the ACCC it will approve its acquisition of 302 petrol stations from Exxon Mobil. It would give it 22% of Australia’s petrol market. The stock has underperformed the market by 27.3% in the past quarter on fears it will be knocked back and increased competition from oil refiners in China and India. CTX up 3%.
  • Perpetual (PPT) reiterates 1H guidance. It expects an underlying profit of between $30m-$40m. PPT down 21c to 3257c. Chinese group Sinochem released a statement yesterday saying it is doing due diligence on Nufarm (NUF) and it still wants to acquire it. It also said that it will then finalize a view on the price per share once the diligence is complete meaning the indicative price of $13 a share is not concrete. NUF down 4.2% to 1076c.
  • BlueScope Steel (BSL) said it will complete construction of its second metallic coating line in Indonesia due to rising local demand. It has spent $US86m on the project and expects further capital cost of another $US40m. BSL up 4% to 293c.
  • Telstra says it plans to float China’s top real estate website, SouFun, which is expected to generate a healthy profit. TLS up 3c to 347c.
  • Macarthur Coal (MCC) says coal sales have recovered with steel production increasing. It plans to double production during the next 5 years. MCC up 2.6% to 939c.
  • One broker has released its 2010 Market Outlook and says Australian equities are still slightly “on the cheap side of fair value” despite a 50% rise from the bottom in March. They maintain their view of the ASX 200 hitting 5300.
  • Stocks hitting fresh yearly highs include: Coca-Cola Amatil (CCL), Equinox Minerals (EQN), Mount Gibson Iron (MGX), Newcrest Mining (NCM), Premier Investments (PMV), PanAust (PNA) and Resolute Mining (RSG).

The Dow Futures were down 4