MELBOURNE, Nov 3 (Reuters) - Australian stocks are expected
to open firmer on Wednesday, following Wall Street's lead on
expectations the U.S. mid-term elections outcome will be friendly
for business.
* The big four banks will be in focus after the Commonwealth Bank attracted a barrage of political criticism for hiking rates faster than the central bank and sparking a government review of the industry to spur greater competition.
* Westpac Banking Corp, Australia's third-largest lender, will also be on watch after it said second-half cash earnings rose 26 percent, meeting forecasts, and joined rivals in warning about margin pressures ahead.
* Westfield will also be in focus as it expected to announce the restructuring of the group. Westfield is seen spinning off half of its Australian and New Zealand assets into a new fund, raising $3.5 billion in fresh equity and $1.5 billion in debt, the Australian Financial Review said.
* Wall Street added 0.8 percent as most polls show Republicans regaining control of the House of Representatives, while President Barack Obama's Democrats could be left with a narrow majority in the Senate. For details, see and
* Attention now moves to the Federal Reserve meeting, with the policy announcement due later on Wednesday expected to contain a programme of asset purchases of at least $500 million. For a special report see http://link.reuters.com/pyb23q
* The Australian share price index futures rose 13.0 points to 4714, a 12.6 point premium to the underlying S&P/ASX 200 index which closed a 4,701.38 in the previous session.
* New Zealand's benchmark NZX 50 index picked up 6.9 points in early trade to 3,331.7.
----------------------MARKET SNAPSHOT @ 2159 GMT ------------
INSTRUMENT LAST PCT CHG NET CHG S&P 500 1193.57 0.78% 9.190 USD/JPY 80.66 0.02% 0.020
10-YR US TSY YLD 2.592 --
0.036 SPOT GOLD 1357 0.00% 0.000 US CRUDE 84.44 0.64% 0.000 DOW JONES 11188.72 0.58% 64.10 ASIA ADRS 132.86 0.79% 1.04
* Expectation of Republican win lifts Wall St
* Oil hits 6-month high on weak dollar, OPEC talk
* Gold rises on dollar slide, FOMC in focus
* Copper ends up on soft dollar, pre-Fed positioning
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.
* The big four banks will be in focus after the Commonwealth Bank attracted a barrage of political criticism for hiking rates faster than the central bank and sparking a government review of the industry to spur greater competition.
* Westpac Banking Corp, Australia's third-largest lender, will also be on watch after it said second-half cash earnings rose 26 percent, meeting forecasts, and joined rivals in warning about margin pressures ahead.
* Westfield will also be in focus as it expected to announce the restructuring of the group. Westfield is seen spinning off half of its Australian and New Zealand assets into a new fund, raising $3.5 billion in fresh equity and $1.5 billion in debt, the Australian Financial Review said.
* Wall Street added 0.8 percent as most polls show Republicans regaining control of the House of Representatives, while President Barack Obama's Democrats could be left with a narrow majority in the Senate. For details, see and
* Attention now moves to the Federal Reserve meeting, with the policy announcement due later on Wednesday expected to contain a programme of asset purchases of at least $500 million. For a special report see http://link.reuters.com/pyb23q
* The Australian share price index futures rose 13.0 points to 4714, a 12.6 point premium to the underlying S&P/ASX 200 index which closed a 4,701.38 in the previous session.
* New Zealand's benchmark NZX 50 index picked up 6.9 points in early trade to 3,331.7.
----------------------MARKET SNAPSHOT @ 2159 GMT ------------
INSTRUMENT LAST PCT CHG NET CHG S&P 500 1193.57 0.78% 9.190 USD/JPY 80.66 0.02% 0.020
10-YR US TSY YLD 2.592 --
0.036 SPOT GOLD 1357 0.00% 0.000 US CRUDE 84.44 0.64% 0.000 DOW JONES 11188.72 0.58% 64.10 ASIA ADRS 132.86 0.79% 1.04
* Expectation of Republican win lifts Wall St
* Oil hits 6-month high on weak dollar, OPEC talk
* Gold rises on dollar slide, FOMC in focus
* Copper ends up on soft dollar, pre-Fed positioning
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.