SYDNEY, March 25 (Reuters) - Australian shares are expected
to open higher on Friday following Wall St.'s increase, although
weaker metal prices may offset some of the gains.
* Local share price index futures rose 28 points to 4,750, a 50.4 point premium to the underlying S&P/ASX 200 index close on Thursday.
* Miner BHP Billiton will be in the spotlight after announcing $12.8 billion on expansion of its coal and iron ore operations in Australia with its own share of the spending totalling $9.5 billion. The miner is due to brief investors on the move before the market opens.
* Rail freight firm QR National will also be watched after it said it approved A$185 million to expand its Goonyella rail network as part of BHP's coal mining expansion.
* Telstra Corp also made headlines after Australia's sovereign wealth fund trimmed its stake in the telecoms group to less than 5 percent, which will trigger an increase in the company's weighting in the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index in June.
* U.S. stocks rose for a second day on optimism about upcoming earnings as the quarter's top performers drew buyers. The S&P 500 broke above its 50-day moving average at 1,305, leading investors to believe the market may have absorbed the worst of its recent pullback caused by Japan's earthquake and tumult in the Arab world, positioning stocks for another move higher.
* New Zealand's benchmark NZX 50 index rose 0.2 percent to 3,393.47 in early trade.
---------------------MARKET SNAPSHOT @ 2217 GMT ------------ INSTRUMENT LAST PCT CHG NET CHG S&P 500 1309.66 0.93% 12.120 USD/JPY 80.99 0.01% 0.010
10-YR US TSY YLD 3.4074 -
0.063SPOT GOLD 1431.45 0.14% 1.960 US CRUDE 105.5 -0.09% -0.100 DOW JONES 12170.56 0.70%
84.54 ASIA ADRS 138.95 0.56% 0.77
* Earnings hope lifts stocks,S&P above key resistance
* Oil steady, market eyes Libya
* Gold retreats after record on technical selling
* Copper falls on signs of slowing U.S. economy
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 2011. 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.
* Local share price index futures rose 28 points to 4,750, a 50.4 point premium to the underlying S&P/ASX 200 index close on Thursday.
* Miner BHP Billiton will be in the spotlight after announcing $12.8 billion on expansion of its coal and iron ore operations in Australia with its own share of the spending totalling $9.5 billion. The miner is due to brief investors on the move before the market opens.
* Rail freight firm QR National will also be watched after it said it approved A$185 million to expand its Goonyella rail network as part of BHP's coal mining expansion.
* Telstra Corp also made headlines after Australia's sovereign wealth fund trimmed its stake in the telecoms group to less than 5 percent, which will trigger an increase in the company's weighting in the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index in June.
* U.S. stocks rose for a second day on optimism about upcoming earnings as the quarter's top performers drew buyers. The S&P 500 broke above its 50-day moving average at 1,305, leading investors to believe the market may have absorbed the worst of its recent pullback caused by Japan's earthquake and tumult in the Arab world, positioning stocks for another move higher.
* New Zealand's benchmark NZX 50 index rose 0.2 percent to 3,393.47 in early trade.
---------------------MARKET SNAPSHOT @ 2217 GMT ------------ INSTRUMENT LAST PCT CHG NET CHG S&P 500 1309.66 0.93% 12.120 USD/JPY 80.99 0.01% 0.010
10-YR US TSY YLD 3.4074 -
0.063SPOT GOLD 1431.45 0.14% 1.960 US CRUDE 105.5 -0.09% -0.100 DOW JONES 12170.56 0.70%
84.54 ASIA ADRS 138.95 0.56% 0.77
* Earnings hope lifts stocks,S&P above key resistance
* Oil steady, market eyes Libya
* Gold retreats after record on technical selling
* Copper falls on signs of slowing U.S. economy
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 2011. 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.