Welcome to Monday and the start of a new week. 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 0.3% lower this morning, following moderate falls on Wall Street overnight.The Dow Jones Industrial Average and broader S&P 500 both fell 0.3% while the tech-heavy NASDAQ was down 0.4%.
Crude oil prices were steady, with Brent at US$58.69 per barrel, while iron ore was up 1.4% to US$62.49 per tonne.
The Australian dollar is down slightly against the US dollar and is currently buying 77.7 US cents.
- Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) is being tipped to deliver a half year profit of around $4.6 billion – a record for Australia's largest bank. As interest rates around the world either crumble or are already at very low levels, funding costs for Australia's banks are falling.A pick up in credit growth – with Australia's property industry showing no signs of slowing down are also helping.
- The mining services sector woes continue with Coffey International Limited (ASX: COF) shares sinking 15% after reporting a 50% fall in earnings per share and a dire outlook for some of its businesses. Investors can expect similar results from many companies in the sector this reporting season.The bad news is that we aren't at the bottom yet, with the worst to come.
- Tweet of the Day
UREN: Pressure on government's finances will intensify amid plunging commodity prices https://t.co/Y5VkC77M5N pic.twitter.com/RG2w4xZFLC
Business Review (@aus_business) February 8, 2015Falling commodity prices not just trouble for the resource stocks but Australia's economy as well.
- Stock of the Day– brought to you by Tim McArthur – News Corp (ASX: NWS). The owner of The Australian and Daily Telegraph newspapers and part owner of Foxtel just reported its interim results. Time to buy?
