SYDNEY, Feb 17 (Reuters) - Australian stocks are poised to
open higher on Wednesday, drawing strength from strong run by
U.S. and European stocks and after commodity prices rose.
Wall Street rallied on Tuesday, sending the benchmark S&P 500 to its biggest one-day percentage run-up in three months, as Merck's strong earnings and upbeat regional manufacturing data boosted optimism about the economic outlook.
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 1.7 percent, the S&P 500 gained 1.8 percent and the Nasdaq Composite Index rose 1.4 percent.
Miners such as BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto are seen gaining as metal prices rose after the dollar sank against the euro, and investors eyeing strong growth in Asia and bullish inventory data piled into industrial metals.
Investors will also be assessing results and guidance changes from key Australian firms, including AXA Asia Pacific Holdings , mall owner Westfield, beverage maker Coca-Cola Amatil and biotherapies group CSL.
Australian share index futures rose 61 points to 4,596 representing a 28.2 points premium to the close of the underlying S&P/ASX200 index at 4,567.76 the previous day.
New Zealand's benchmark NZX 50 index rose 21.2 points to 3,108.8 in early trade.
----------------------MARKET SNAPSHOT @ 2111 GMT ------------
INSTRUMENT LAST PCT CHG NET CHG
S&P 500 1094.87 1.8% 19.360
USD/JPY 90.09 0.1% 0.090
10-YR US TSY YLD 3.6645 --
0.030
SPOT GOLD 1119.4 1.72% 18.900
US CRUDE 77.16 4.09% 3.030
DOW JONES 10268.81 1.68% 169.67
ASIA ADRS 125.19 1.78% 2.19
* Wall St raliies on profits, data
* Oil gains 4 percent on dollar drop, Iran tension
* Gold spikes above $1,120/oz, fuelled by euro gains
* Base metals rally to multi-week highs as dlr sinks
For a digest of the day's business stories in Australian newspapers, double click on
((Australia/New Zealand bureaux; +61 2 9373 1800/+64 4 471 4234))
DIARIES & DATA: IPO diary & data Asia earnings diary U.S. earnings diary European diary Australia diary Wall Street Week Ahead Eurostocks Week Ahead ................................................................ For latest top breaking news across all markets ................................................................ TOP NEWS SUMMARIES ON OTHER SUBJECTS | U.S. Companies | European Companies | | Forex | Global Economy | | Tech.Media,Telecoms | Banking, Financials | | Politics & General | Sports | ................................................................ MAJOR STOCK MARKET REPORTS New York Weekly outlook New York Pan-Europe Weekly outlook Europe London Weekly outlook London Tokyo ................................................................ ASIA STOCK MARKETS Pan-Asia...................... Bangkok...... Karachi........ S/east Asia. Bombay....... Kuala Lumpur... Sydney/NZ... China........ Seoul.......... Taipei...... Hong Kong.... Singapore...... Tokyo........ ................................................................ Access to some items may depend on subscription level. ................................................................ UP-TO-THE-MINUTE HEADLINES Company results Economic indicators Mergers & acquisitions Interest rates LIVE PRICES & DATA World Stocks Currency rates Dow Jones/NASDAQ Nikkei FTSE 100 Debt HOW TO FIND INFORMATION YOU NEED | | | | | || | | | LIVE PRICES & DATA: World Stocks Currency rates Dow Jones/NASDAQ Nikkei FTSE 100 Debt Australian dollar LME price overview Keywords: MARKETS AUSTRALIA STOCKS (Multimedia versions of Reuters Top News are now available for: * 3000 Xtra : visit http://topnews.session.rservices.com * BridgeStation: view story .134 For more information on Top News, please visit http://topnews.reuters.com) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2010. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
Wall Street rallied on Tuesday, sending the benchmark S&P 500 to its biggest one-day percentage run-up in three months, as Merck's strong earnings and upbeat regional manufacturing data boosted optimism about the economic outlook.
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 1.7 percent, the S&P 500 gained 1.8 percent and the Nasdaq Composite Index rose 1.4 percent.
Miners such as BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto are seen gaining as metal prices rose after the dollar sank against the euro, and investors eyeing strong growth in Asia and bullish inventory data piled into industrial metals.
Investors will also be assessing results and guidance changes from key Australian firms, including AXA Asia Pacific Holdings , mall owner Westfield, beverage maker Coca-Cola Amatil and biotherapies group CSL.
Australian share index futures rose 61 points to 4,596 representing a 28.2 points premium to the close of the underlying S&P/ASX200 index at 4,567.76 the previous day.
New Zealand's benchmark NZX 50 index rose 21.2 points to 3,108.8 in early trade.
----------------------MARKET SNAPSHOT @ 2111 GMT ------------
INSTRUMENT LAST PCT CHG NET CHG
S&P 500 1094.87 1.8% 19.360
USD/JPY 90.09 0.1% 0.090
10-YR US TSY YLD 3.6645 --
0.030
SPOT GOLD 1119.4 1.72% 18.900
US CRUDE 77.16 4.09% 3.030
DOW JONES 10268.81 1.68% 169.67
ASIA ADRS 125.19 1.78% 2.19
* Wall St raliies on profits, data
* Oil gains 4 percent on dollar drop, Iran tension
* Gold spikes above $1,120/oz, fuelled by euro gains
* Base metals rally to multi-week highs as dlr sinks
For a digest of the day's business stories in Australian newspapers, double click on
((Australia/New Zealand bureaux; +61 2 9373 1800/+64 4 471 4234))
DIARIES & DATA: IPO diary & data Asia earnings diary U.S. earnings diary European diary Australia diary Wall Street Week Ahead Eurostocks Week Ahead ................................................................ For latest top breaking news across all markets ................................................................ TOP NEWS SUMMARIES ON OTHER SUBJECTS | U.S. Companies | European Companies | | Forex | Global Economy | | Tech.Media,Telecoms | Banking, Financials | | Politics & General | Sports | ................................................................ MAJOR STOCK MARKET REPORTS New York Weekly outlook New York Pan-Europe Weekly outlook Europe London Weekly outlook London Tokyo ................................................................ ASIA STOCK MARKETS Pan-Asia...................... Bangkok...... Karachi........ S/east Asia. Bombay....... Kuala Lumpur... Sydney/NZ... China........ Seoul.......... Taipei...... Hong Kong.... Singapore...... Tokyo........ ................................................................ Access to some items may depend on subscription level. ................................................................ UP-TO-THE-MINUTE HEADLINES Company results Economic indicators Mergers & acquisitions Interest rates LIVE PRICES & DATA World Stocks Currency rates Dow Jones/NASDAQ Nikkei FTSE 100 Debt HOW TO FIND INFORMATION YOU NEED | | | | | || | | | LIVE PRICES & DATA: World Stocks Currency rates Dow Jones/NASDAQ Nikkei FTSE 100 Debt Australian dollar LME price overview Keywords: MARKETS AUSTRALIA STOCKS (Multimedia versions of Reuters Top News are now available for: * 3000 Xtra : visit http://topnews.session.rservices.com * BridgeStation: view story .134 For more information on Top News, please visit http://topnews.reuters.com) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2010. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.