DXS Dexus

2305 GMT [Dow Jones] Australia's S&P/ASX 200 may consolidate amid a host of earnings reports Thursday, after hitting a fresh 34-month high of 5013.6 Wednesday and closing with a 0.9% gain. Europe's Stoxx 600 rose 0.4% overnight as the marked focused on improved euro-zone industrial production for December, while looking past the 2.4% fall in December quarter industrial production--the biggest fall in 3 years. Also, on a positive note, the U.S. S&P 500 hit a fresh 5-year high of 1524.7 before closing flat at 1520.33. The market will be focusing on results from Downer (DOW.AU), Mirvac (MGR.AU), GPT (GPT.AU), Dexus (DXS.AU) Wesfarmers (WES.AU) and Rio Tinto (RIO.AU), with Rio's results coming after the close of trading. The S&P/ASX 200 closed Wednesday at 5003.7. (david.rogers1@wsj.com)

 
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