Welcome to Thursday. Here are the five things I'm looking at today on the Australian sharemarket.
- The S&P/ ASX 200 (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) has opened slightly up – 0.1%, after Wall Street hit all-time highs…again.The Dow Jones gained 0.1%, while the broader S&P 500 gained 0.3%, and the tech-heavy NASDAQ 0.6%.
The Australian dollar has reached 85.44 US cents, around about where the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) says it should be. That should be helping our exporters out – as well as those Australian companies with large offshore earnings such as these three.
- Iron ore continues to fall, losing another 1.6% overnight, to trade around US$68.49 per tonne. That could see the junior miners BC Iron Limited (ASX: BCI), Atlas Iron Limited (ASX: AGO), Arrium Limited (ASX: ARI), Mineral Resources Limited (ASX: MIN) and Mount Gibson Iron Limited (ASX: MGX) come under pressure today.And while the big miners with their ultra-low production costs will still be making a profit, the tumbling iron ore price will hammer their earnings – as I pointed out in this article.
- Management of Woolworths Limited (ASX: WOW) are expected to come in for a grilling by shareholders at the company's AGM today. A chorus of voices are questioning the supermarket retailer's hardware strategy, slowing sales in its key food and liquor division, and rising competition from the discount retailers, ALDI and Costco.BT Investment Management Ltd's (ASX: BTT) Crispin Murray has also chimed in, pointing out that Woolworths' cash flow is not covering its dividend payment, suggesting it is unsustainable.
Structural issues ahead, or is this just a temporary setback for the giant retailer? We've covered some of these points in this article.
- Tweet of the Day
Here's Where You Can Leave Messages Of Support For Phil Hughes #ThoughtsWithHughesy – https://t.co/z4WyEfx1MS
Business Insider AUS (@BusInsiderAU) November 26, 2014If you're a cricket buff, you've probably already heard the sad news. We pass on our thought to Phil Hughes and his family and friends for a speedy recovery.
- Stock of the Day – brought to you by Sean O'Neill – Ausdrill Limited (ASX: ASL). Mining services companies have been hit hard – but the worst is yet to come. If you hold shares in any company servicing the resources and energy space, you need to read this.
