SYDNEY (Thomson Financial) - Australian shares are expected to open lower on
Monday with the financial sector under continued selling pressure following news
that the Federal Reserve and JPMorgan Chase & Co had to bail out Bear Stearns.
Wall Street closed down 1.6 percent at 11,951.09 on Friday after the Fed and
JPMorgan Chase extended loans with emergency funding to the fifth-largest US
investment bank in the US, adding to fears that the credit crisis is far from
over.
"By association with overseas leads were should see a weak start to our
week," said Stuart Smith, a private client advisor at Bell Potter Securities.
"We should be down led by the banks. The LME (London Metals Exchange) prices
weren't anything to write home about either, so it will generally be a down
day," he said.
Base metal prices were mostly softer on the LME on Friday with zinc down 1.2
percent and lead falling 0.5 percent, providing little support for local mining
stocks.
A technical analysis of the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 indicates the index could
fall to 4,800 this week, Smith said.
In Australia on Friday, the S&P/ASX 200 closed up 71 points or 1.4 percent
at 5,206.9, after moving between 5,157.5 and 5,219.4. The All Ordinaries rose
72.8 points or 1.4 percent to 5,288.5.
The S&P/ASX 200 March futures contract was down 36 points at 5,124.
In London on Friday, the FTSE 100 index closed down 60.7 points at 5,631.7.
BHP Billiton was up 3.7 percent, while Rio Tinto rose 2.2 percent.
Gold for April delivery gained 5.70 US dollars to close at 999.50 dollars an
ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange, after rising as high as 1,009 dollars
an ounce and setting a new trading record.
Light sweet crude for April delivery fell 12 cents to settle to 110.21
dollars a barrel on the Nymex.
(1 US dollar = 1.06 Australian dollars)
yuinmunn.szetoh@thomson.com
-
bhx/ng
COPYRIGHT
Copyright Thomson Financial News Limited 2008. All rights reserved.
The copying, republication or redistribution of Thomson Financial News Content,
including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior
written consent of Thomson Financial News.
|