MELBOURNE, Feb 19 (Reuters) - Australian stocks face an
uncertain start on Friday after the U.S. Federal Reserve
surprised markets and raised its discount rate in a move that
could jolt investor sentiment in global equity markets.
U.S. stock-index futures went into reverse after the Fed's announcement, which followed another bullish session on Wall Street, as investors worried it was intent on stemming the tide of liquidity carrying global share markets higher.
The Fed, citing improved financial market conditions, said it would hike its discount rate to 0.75 percent from 0.50 percent, effective Friday.
S&P 500 futures fell 8.60 points, while Nasdaq futures lost 13.5 points, and Dow futures slid 61 points.
Australia's stock index futures had yet to react to the U.S. news at 2215 GMT and were still up 45 points or 1.0 percent at 4,670.0, a 16 point premium to the the close of the underlying S&P/ASX200 index at 4,654.9 on Thursday.
The local market could draw some strength from a first-quarter trading update from Australia's top lender, National Australia Bank, which reported earnings growth of more than 20 percent between the September and December quarters, though the result was little changed from a year ago.
NAB also said bad debt charges were not expected to return to recent peaks.
NAB's statement on Friday followed stronger-than-expected updates over the past week from Commonwealth Bank of Australia and Westpac Banking Corp.
Before the Fed's announcement, the Dow Jones industrial average had risen 0.81 percent to 10,392.90.
New Zealand's benchmark NZX 50 index was down 0.3 points at 3,091.9 in early trade.
----------------------MARKET SNAPSHOT @ 2148 GMT ------------
INSTRUMENT LAST PCT CHG NET CHG S&P 500 1106.75 0.66% 7.240 USD/JPY 91.67 0.48% 0.440
10-YR US TSY YLD 3.8069 -
0.069 SPOT GOLD 1111.75 0.52% 5.750 US CRUDE 78.35 1.32% 1.020 DOW JONES 10392.90 0.81% 83.66 ASIA ADRS 125.80 0.26% 0.33
* Wall St rises on recovery optimism
* Oil rises above $78 on lower distillate inventory
* Investors shun paper currencies, pile into gold
* Copper at 3-week high as China demand looks up
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))
((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))
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 ((If you have a query or comment on this story, send an email to news.feedback.asia@thomsonreuters.com) Keywords: MARKETS AUSTRALIA STOCKS (bruce.hextall@thomsonreuters.com; +612 93731236; Reuters Messaging bruce.hextall.reuters.com@reuters.net) 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.
U.S. stock-index futures went into reverse after the Fed's announcement, which followed another bullish session on Wall Street, as investors worried it was intent on stemming the tide of liquidity carrying global share markets higher.
The Fed, citing improved financial market conditions, said it would hike its discount rate to 0.75 percent from 0.50 percent, effective Friday.
S&P 500 futures fell 8.60 points, while Nasdaq futures lost 13.5 points, and Dow futures slid 61 points.
Australia's stock index futures had yet to react to the U.S. news at 2215 GMT and were still up 45 points or 1.0 percent at 4,670.0, a 16 point premium to the the close of the underlying S&P/ASX200 index at 4,654.9 on Thursday.
The local market could draw some strength from a first-quarter trading update from Australia's top lender, National Australia Bank, which reported earnings growth of more than 20 percent between the September and December quarters, though the result was little changed from a year ago.
NAB also said bad debt charges were not expected to return to recent peaks.
NAB's statement on Friday followed stronger-than-expected updates over the past week from Commonwealth Bank of Australia and Westpac Banking Corp.
Before the Fed's announcement, the Dow Jones industrial average had risen 0.81 percent to 10,392.90.
New Zealand's benchmark NZX 50 index was down 0.3 points at 3,091.9 in early trade.
----------------------MARKET SNAPSHOT @ 2148 GMT ------------
INSTRUMENT LAST PCT CHG NET CHG S&P 500 1106.75 0.66% 7.240 USD/JPY 91.67 0.48% 0.440
10-YR US TSY YLD 3.8069 -
0.069 SPOT GOLD 1111.75 0.52% 5.750 US CRUDE 78.35 1.32% 1.020 DOW JONES 10392.90 0.81% 83.66 ASIA ADRS 125.80 0.26% 0.33
* Wall St rises on recovery optimism
* Oil rises above $78 on lower distillate inventory
* Investors shun paper currencies, pile into gold
* Copper at 3-week high as China demand looks up
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))
((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))
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 ((If you have a query or comment on this story, send an email to news.feedback.asia@thomsonreuters.com) Keywords: MARKETS AUSTRALIA STOCKS (bruce.hextall@thomsonreuters.com; +612 93731236; Reuters Messaging bruce.hextall.reuters.com@reuters.net) 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.