SYDNEY (AFX) - Share prices are expected to open flat following mixed overseas leads including an indifferent performance on Wall Street, dealers said.
They said attention will be on the start of the December half reporting season today with Rio Tinto's listed coal miner, Coal & Allied Industries, expected to report disappointing full year results as congestion at the Port of Newcastle on Australia's east coast delayed shipments to Asian markets.
Nevertheless, Rio Tinto is expected to report a bumper 7.6 bln usd December year profit on Thursday, outstripping its record 5.2 bln usd 2005 result.
Macquarie Equities is forecasting companies in the S&P/ASX 200 will report overall earnings growth of about 16 pct.
The S&P/ASX 200 March futures contract ended its last session unchanged at 5,274.0.
The market was closed on Friday for the Australia Day holiday.
On Thursday, the S&P/ASX 200 added 1.1 points or just 0.02 pct to a record close of 5,769.9. The key index closed off a new intra-day record high of 5,802.1.
Over the trading week the index rose 76.8 points or 1.7 pct after four consecutive record closes.
The broader All Ordinaries index gained 4.2 points to a fresh record close of 5,753.3 and setting a fresh intra-day record of 5,782.9.
In New York, share prices ended lower on Friday after economic reports dashed hopes for an interest rate cut anytime soon.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 15.54 points to 12,487.02.
News Corp ended down 0.50 pct while National Australia Bank American Depositary Receipts fell 0.64 pct.
In London, share prices ended lower on Friday, dragged down by resources stocks because of uncertainty about the direction of commodity prices.
The FTSE 100 fell 41.3 points to 6,228.0.
BHP Billiton dropped 2.40 pct and Rio Tinto lost 2.12 pct.
Crude oil prices rose on Friday on expectations that cold weather across the US could lift demand for heating oil. Prices were also supported by growing political tensions between Iran and the US.
The March Nymex crude contract ended up 1.19 usd at 55.42 usd a barrel after sliding by 1.14 usd on Thursday.
Base metal prices were generally lower on the London Metal Exchange on Friday. Spot nickel prices eased just 0.2 pct from record highs as concerns about pay negotiations at Xstrata's nickel operations in Sudbury, Ontario, kept the metal well supported.
Gold prices were weighed down by option-related selling and a stronger US dollar. The February benchmark Comex gold contract 3.40 usd to 644.70 usd an ounce.
(1 usd = 1.29 aud)
bruce.hextall@xfn.com