MELBOURNE, Nov 22 (Reuters) - Australian shares are set for a
steady start to the week on Monday, with interest dominated by
the trading debut of QR National, the country's biggest float in
more than a decade.
* Share price index futures last traded up 6 points at 4,655, a 25.8 point premium to the close of the underlying S&P/ASX 200 index which fell 0.2 percent on Friday.
* New Zealand's benchmark NZX 50 index rose 0.3 percent to 3276.4 in early trade.
* QR National shares due to start trading on the Australian stock exchange under the symbol QRN
* Stock expected to open at about A$2.52 on Monday, according to a Reuters poll. Fund managers said the stock looked fully priced. Float drew a poor response from local institutions but was propped up by offshore investors.
* Queensland government priced the shares at A$2.55, near the bottom of its indicative range. The sale of the rail-freight business raised $4 billion on Saturday.
* Retailers Myer and Kathmandu, which were the last two big IPOs, both traded below their issue price.
* Major U.S. stock indexes finished little changed on Friday after China's central bank raised bank reserve requirements for the second time in two weeks to fight inflation. For details, see
* Gold prices were little changed but copper had its biggest weekly decline in three months. U.S. oil prices logged their biggest weekly percentage decline since August.
* Commonwealth Bank Chief Executive Ralph Norris and Suncorp Chief Executive Patrick Snowball both speak at business lunches on Monday.
* Shopping-mall owner Westfield Group is selling a stake in its Stratford City development in London to Dutch and Canadian pension funds for 871.5 million pounds ($1.39 billion), Westfield said on Monday. See. ----------------------MARKET SNAPSHOT @ 2212 GMT ------------
INSTRUMENT LAST PCT CHG NET CHG S&P 500 1199.73 0.25% 3.040 USD/JPY 83.49 0.02% 0.020
10-YR US TSY YLD 2.8769 -
0.000 SPOT GOLD 1354.15 0.00% 0.000 US CRUDE 81.98 -0.53% -0.440 DOW JONES 11203.55 0.20% 22.32 ASIA ADRS 135.99 -0.13% -0.18
* US chip shares rise, market ends flat for week
* Oil slips on China bank reserve move
* Gold steadies on Irish aid hopes; China in focus
* Copper ends lower after China inflation moves
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.
* Share price index futures last traded up 6 points at 4,655, a 25.8 point premium to the close of the underlying S&P/ASX 200 index which fell 0.2 percent on Friday.
* New Zealand's benchmark NZX 50 index rose 0.3 percent to 3276.4 in early trade.
* QR National shares due to start trading on the Australian stock exchange under the symbol QRN
* Stock expected to open at about A$2.52 on Monday, according to a Reuters poll. Fund managers said the stock looked fully priced. Float drew a poor response from local institutions but was propped up by offshore investors.
* Queensland government priced the shares at A$2.55, near the bottom of its indicative range. The sale of the rail-freight business raised $4 billion on Saturday.
* Retailers Myer and Kathmandu, which were the last two big IPOs, both traded below their issue price.
* Major U.S. stock indexes finished little changed on Friday after China's central bank raised bank reserve requirements for the second time in two weeks to fight inflation. For details, see
* Gold prices were little changed but copper had its biggest weekly decline in three months. U.S. oil prices logged their biggest weekly percentage decline since August.
* Commonwealth Bank Chief Executive Ralph Norris and Suncorp Chief Executive Patrick Snowball both speak at business lunches on Monday.
* Shopping-mall owner Westfield Group is selling a stake in its Stratford City development in London to Dutch and Canadian pension funds for 871.5 million pounds ($1.39 billion), Westfield said on Monday. See. ----------------------MARKET SNAPSHOT @ 2212 GMT ------------
INSTRUMENT LAST PCT CHG NET CHG S&P 500 1199.73 0.25% 3.040 USD/JPY 83.49 0.02% 0.020
10-YR US TSY YLD 2.8769 -
0.000 SPOT GOLD 1354.15 0.00% 0.000 US CRUDE 81.98 -0.53% -0.440 DOW JONES 11203.55 0.20% 22.32 ASIA ADRS 135.99 -0.13% -0.18
* US chip shares rise, market ends flat for week
* Oil slips on China bank reserve move
* Gold steadies on Irish aid hopes; China in focus
* Copper ends lower after China inflation moves
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.