Australia shares seen muted, iron ore price falls
Bareksa • 02 Jun 2014
Ships waiting to be loaded are seen near piles of iron ore and bucket-wheel reclaimers at the Fortescue loading dock located at Port Hedland, in the Pilbara region of Western Australia (REUTERS/David Gray/Files)
Australian airlines forced to cancel flights due to a volcanic ash cloud from Indonesia's Sangeang Api volcano
Bareksa.com - Australian shares are set for a muted start on Monday as a fall in iron ore and a weaker gold price offset gains on Wall Street, while investors will eye a raft of local data due out later.
* Local share price index futures fell 0.1 percent, but were at a 2.5 point premium to the underlying S&P/ASX 200 index close. The benchmark lost 0.5 percent on Friday and eked out a gain of 0.1 percent for May.
* New Zealand's benchmark NZX 50 index slipped 0.1 percent in early trade.
* The Dow and the S&P 500 edged up to end at record highs on Friday, wrapping up four straight months of gains, after mixed economic data gave investors little reason to rush into stocks.
* Iron ore fell 4 percent on Friday to $91.80 <.IO62-CNI=SI>. The raw material fell for a sixth straight month in May in its longest losing streak on record, due to hefty supplies.
* Copper prices dipped, but headed for their biggest monthly gain since December, underpinned by recovering demand from top consumer China, while nickel rebounded after four days of losses on persistent concerns about a supply shortage. Gold fell almost 1 percent to a near four-month low.
* Building permits, business inventories, and corporate profits are due out from the Australian Bureau of Statistics. A manufacturing index from Australian Industry Group and TD Securities and Melbourne Institute's monthly inflation gauge is also due out on Monday.
* Australian airlines forced to cancel flights due to a volcanic ash cloud from Indonesia's Sangeang Api volcano resumed flying on Sunday as the plume cleared.
* Balamara Resources Ltd said it has secured an investment in the Nowa Ruda coking coal project in Poland.
* REA Group Ltd has appointed Tracey Fellows as CEO, replacing Peter Tonagh.
* Sai Global Ltd said it has been approached by a number of parties expressing interest in its business.
* RCG Corp Ltd says its expects its FY 2014 EBITDA growth to be in the range of 10 percent to 12 percent.
----------------------MARKET SNAPSHOT @ 2301 GMT ------------
INSTRUMENT LAST PCT CHG NET CHG S&P 500 1923.57 0.18% 3.540 USD/JPY 101.79 0.01% 0.010 10-YR US TSY YLD 2.475 -- 0.000 SPOT GOLD 1247.59 -0.25% -3.100 US CRUDE 102.92 0.20% 0.210 DOW JONES 16717.17 0.11% 18.43 ASIA ADRS 144.74 -0.48% -0.70 -------------------------------------------------------------
* Dow, S&P 500 end at record highs after data * Oil falls at month's end, but rises in May on supply worries * Gold falls to near 4-month low; posts sharp weekly drop * Copper set for biggest monthly gain since Dec, nickel rebounds