MARKET TALK: S&P/ASX 200 Offshore Leads Bullish

6th Jul 2010 23:58

2258 GMT [Dow Jones] S&P/ASX 200 offshore leads bullish, with overnight SPI 200 futures up 67 points, or 1.6%, at 4275.0 after strong gains in Europe and modest gains in U.S. equities. Following a 1.9% rise in China's Shanghai Composite, Stoxx Europe 600 rose 2.6% and FTSE 100 rose 2.9%, with London-listed BHP up 5.5%, Rio Tinto (RIO.AU) up 5.9% and Xstrata up 6.4%. In New York, DJIA rose 0.6% to 9743.62, S&P 500 rose 0.5% to 1028.06, Nasdaq rose 0.1% to 2093.88. U.S. services sector ISM fell to 53.8 vs 54.9 expected. Conference Board June employment trends index rose 0.6%. In technology, Microsoft rose 2.4%. S&P 500 Financials rose 0.6%, with BofA up 1.6%, but Amex fell 0.5%. S&P 500 Materials was flat, with Alcoa up 2.1%, Vale down 0.6%, Freeport up 1.1%, US Steel up 1.1%, Barrick Gold down 0.6%. BHP Billiton (BHP.AU) ADRs at equivalent A$37.45 (based on AUD/USD at 0.8524) vs local close at A$37.15. S&P 500 Consumer Discretionary was flat, with Home Depot down 1.5% and News Corp. up 1.6%. Reports said News Corp. may buy 5 French TV channels from France-Telecom Orange. (New Corp. is the owner of Dow Jones Newswires.) S&P 500 Industrials rose 0.1%, with GE up 0.6% and Caterpillar up 1.1%, although Boeing fell 0.9%. S&P 500 Energy up 1.1%, with Exxon Mobil up 1.6% and BP up 8.7% after saying it has no plan to sell new shares and its Gulf of Mexico relief well drilling was ahead of schedule. Nymex crude down 0.2% at US$71.98. Spot gold at US$1,194.60 v A$1,207.95 this time yesterday. EUR/USD at 1.2629 vs 1.2538. AUD/USD at 0.8524 vs 0.8393. LME copper up 2.1%, zinc up 2.4%, aluminum up 3.1%, nickel up 0.7%. S&P/ASX 200 last 4276.1. ([email protected]) Contact us in Singapore. 65 64154 140; [email protected] (END) Dow Jones Newswires July 06, 2010 18:58 ET (22:58 GMT)