The market is up 44. The SFE Futures were up 36 this morning.

The Dow Jones closed up 65 overnight.  The Dow was up 74 at best and down 1 at worst. Better than expected earnings results and positive economic data provided the catalyst. Despite their earnings result beating expectations, Goldman Sachs closed down 1.3% after being downgraded by another broker. Gold closed at a record high of $1495.10 and the oil price was up $1.03 to $108.15. The Aussie dollar is now trading again over 105c, at 105.36c.

Today’s main stories…

  • BHP Billiton’s (BHP) production numbers released this morning came in as expected. Production of petroleum, iron ore, most base metals and coking coal came in lower than expected due to bad weather. Iron ore was again the stand out. BHP 1.1% to 4722c.
  • Santos (STO) has lowered their FY oil and gas production guidance due to persistent flooding and cyclones. Production for the quarter fell 11% from last year to 11m boe. STO up 1.3% to 1547c.
  • Austar United Communications (AUN) down 1.5% to 130c after announcing a 1st Q net profit of $74m, more than triple from last year. Subscriber numbers fell 1.1% to 755,641 by the end of the quarter compared to the previous quarter.
  • PanAust (PNA) announced their Laos operation was in line with their production schedule on a better-than-expected cash cost performance. They produced 15,029 tonnes during the March Q. PNA up 3% to 76c.
  • Wesfarmers (WES) 3Q retail sales rose by a better than expected 6.5%. Coles Food and Liquor sales grew 7.1% in the quarter from the same period last year and Bunnings home improvement sales grew 8.1%. However, Kmart and Target reported sales declines due to the strong Australian dollar and strong competition. WES up 10c to 3300c.
  • Downer EDI (DOW) has finally presented the first of 78 new passenger trains to the NSW government in what is massive milestone. Dow up 3% to 351c.
  • Australian Pharmaceutical Industries (API) has announced a 430% fall in FY profit due to impairments. Their underlying result was described as sound by management. EBIT came in at $22.6m, down from $25.1m. Declared a fully franked dividend of 1c. API up 1c to 29.5c.
  • Bandanna Energy (BND) up 10.2% after providing an update on their strategic review process.
  • The leading index showed the Australian economy grew at an annualised rate of 4.7% in February, compared with growth of 4.8% in January.
  • Conquest Mining (CQT) has approved the $5.5m exploration program for Mount Carlton. CQT down 1c to 56c.

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