SYDNEY (Thomson Financial) - Australian shares are expected to open slightly firmer Monday on support for the resources sector following rises in metal and oil prices.
'I think we will see a carry on from Friday when there was some good buying,' said Stuart Smith, a private client advisor at Bell Potter Securities.
He said the focus will continue to be on Rio Tinto following its rejection last week of an increased offer from BHP Billiton of 3.4 of its shares for each Rio Tinto share. Rio Tinto has sent a letter to shareholders outlining its reasons for rejecting the offer which values it at about 147 billion US dollars.
Rio Tinto reports its 2007 results on Wednesday with the market consensus being for a 7.1 billion US dollar net profit, down from last year's 7.4 billion US dollars because of softness in some commodity prices and rising costs.
The earnings reporting season gathers pace this week with a raft of blue chips reporting results including Ansell Ltd and United Group today.
The Reserve Bank of Australia also delivers its quarterly monetary policy statement today with the focus expected to be on inflation, repeating the emphasis in last week's statement accompanying the central bank's decision to lift its cash target rate 25 basis points to 7.0 percent -- the highest level in 12 years.
The S&P/ASX 200 March futures contract ended its last session down 5.0 points at 5,888 following a mixed session on Wall Street on Friday.
On Friday, the market closed higher as bargain hunters moved in after three previous sessions of losses.
The S&P/ASX 200 closed 61.3 points or 1.1 percent higher at 5,658. For the week, the benchmark index was down 184.9 points or 3.2 percent. The All Ordinaries ended up 55.6 points or 1.0 percent at 5,723.9.
In New York share prices closed mixed on Friday. Financial stocks eased on credit concerns while transport stocks eased in response to a spike in the price of oil. But technology stocks were firmer with shares in Google, Apple and Amazon all higher.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended down 64.87 points or 0.5 percent to 12,182.13.
News Corp ended down 1.3 percent.
Share prices ended higher in London on Friday with miners leading the market following gains in commodity prices.
The FTSE 100 ended up 59.9 points or 1.1 percent at 5,784.0.
BHP Billiton rose 2.2 percent and Rio Tinto gained 2.1 percent.
Crude oil prices spiked 4.2 percent higher on Friday as investors covered short positions on the expectation of colder temperatures in the US Northeast. There were also forecasts of reduced oil production from the North Sea and Nigeria. The March Nymex crude oil quote rose 3.66 US dollars or 4.2 percent to 91.77 dollars a barrel.
Base metal prices posted solid gains on the London Metal Exchange on Friday. Copper rose 2.3 percent after inventories hit three-month lows, sparking gains in other metals.
Lead soared 7.6 percent, while zinc climbed 4.5 percent and nickel rose 3.2 percent.
Gold prices advanced on Friday in line with other commodities, especially oil. The most-active April Comex gold contract rose by 12.30 or 1.4 percent to 922.30 dollars an ounce.
(1 US dollar = 1.12 Australian dollars)
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