SYDNEY, March 1 (Reuters) - Australian stocks are set to rise
on Monday, helped by stronger oil and metals prices, but volumes
could be light ahead of a stream of key domestic economic data
and the Reserve Bank of Australia's rate decision on Tuesday.
A rise in copper prices, following the huge earthquake in Chile, the world's biggest copper producer, is likely to support the top miners, BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto, which co-own the Escondida mine in Chile.
'I think it'll move higher, but you won't see huge volumes going through the market today,' said Juliana Roadley, market analyst at broker CommSec.
Copper prices are not expected to rise more than about 200 points as the roughly one-fifth of copper production shut after the earthquake, is already being restarted. Escondida was not affected by the quake.
The Reserve Bank of Australia's policy meeting on Tuesday has investors on tenterhooks, as central bank watchers are split over whether the RBA will hike rates by 25 basis points. Investors will also be looking out for data on retail sales, building approvals and GDP this week.
'A lot of the international players might stay out today, not because of Chile, but just because you've got the Reserve Bank coming out with that interest rate decision tomorrow,' Roadley said.
Stock index futures rose 0.3 percent to 4,619.0, 18.7 points below the underlying S&P/ASX 200 index. The benchmark rose 1 percent on Friday to end the week flat.
New Zealand's benchmark NZX 50 index rose 0.4 percent in early trade to 3,168.8.
----------------------MARKET SNAPSHOT @ 2219 GMT ------------
INSTRUMENT LAST PCT CHG NET CHG S&P 500 1104.49 0.14% 1.550 USD/JPY 89.04 0.23% 0.200
10-YR US TSY YLD 3.6192 -
0.000 SPOT GOLD 1116.2 0.00% 0.000 US CRUDE 79.66 1.91% 1.490 DOW JONES 10325.26 0.04% 4.23 ASIA ADRS 124.99 1.03% 1.27
* Best month since Nov in lackluster day for Wall St
* Oil jumps nearly 2 pct on economic data, dollar
* Gold rises toward $1,120; up 2 pct in February
* Copper seen up as quake hits top producer Chile
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.
A rise in copper prices, following the huge earthquake in Chile, the world's biggest copper producer, is likely to support the top miners, BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto, which co-own the Escondida mine in Chile.
'I think it'll move higher, but you won't see huge volumes going through the market today,' said Juliana Roadley, market analyst at broker CommSec.
Copper prices are not expected to rise more than about 200 points as the roughly one-fifth of copper production shut after the earthquake, is already being restarted. Escondida was not affected by the quake.
The Reserve Bank of Australia's policy meeting on Tuesday has investors on tenterhooks, as central bank watchers are split over whether the RBA will hike rates by 25 basis points. Investors will also be looking out for data on retail sales, building approvals and GDP this week.
'A lot of the international players might stay out today, not because of Chile, but just because you've got the Reserve Bank coming out with that interest rate decision tomorrow,' Roadley said.
Stock index futures rose 0.3 percent to 4,619.0, 18.7 points below the underlying S&P/ASX 200 index. The benchmark rose 1 percent on Friday to end the week flat.
New Zealand's benchmark NZX 50 index rose 0.4 percent in early trade to 3,168.8.
----------------------MARKET SNAPSHOT @ 2219 GMT ------------
INSTRUMENT LAST PCT CHG NET CHG S&P 500 1104.49 0.14% 1.550 USD/JPY 89.04 0.23% 0.200
10-YR US TSY YLD 3.6192 -
0.000 SPOT GOLD 1116.2 0.00% 0.000 US CRUDE 79.66 1.91% 1.490 DOW JONES 10325.26 0.04% 4.23 ASIA ADRS 124.99 1.03% 1.27
* Best month since Nov in lackluster day for Wall St
* Oil jumps nearly 2 pct on economic data, dollar
* Gold rises toward $1,120; up 2 pct in February
* Copper seen up as quake hits top producer Chile
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.