The S&P/ASX 200 (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) looks set to continue its rally today ahead of tomorrow's RBA interest rate meeting, where the board is expected to cut interests rates to 1.5%. Earnings season will also get underway this week which investors hope will boost sentiment in the market.
Here's a quick recap:
- FTSE 100 (UK): up 0.05%
- DAX (Germany): up 0.61%
- CAC 40 (France): up 0.44%
- Dow Jones (USA): down 0.13%
- NASDAQ (USA): up 0.14%
The gold miners have been up and down for weeks as a result of the fluctuating gold price. However, the shiny metal has recently rallied to US$1,350 an ounce, which should bode well for companies such as Newcrest Mining Limited (ASX: NCM) and EVOLUTION FPO (ASX: EVN) today.
Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST) also said it has reached an agreement-in-principle to sell its Plutonic gold mine in Western Australia. It said the proposed deal puts the miner on track to produce between 485,000 and 515,000 ounces of gold in financial year 2017 (FY17).
FONTERRA UNIT NZX (ASX: FSF) updated its earnings guidance, saying it expects to report earnings per share between 50 cents and 60 cents for FY17. At $5.36 per unit, Fonterra would be trading on a forecast price/earnings ratio of around 9.7x.
APN News and Media Limited (ASX: APN) has locked in its breakfast radio team Kyle & Jackie O on five-year contracts, which could move the shares today.
Fellow media business Newzulu Ltd (ASX: NWZ) released a business update today as well. It said cash receipts from customers rose 29% during the June 2016 quarter (compared to the previous quarter), with net cash outflows also improving due to a reduction in administrative costs and an improvement in working capital.
The market regulator, ASX Limited (ASX: ASX), also announced it has appointed Dominic Stevens as Managing Director and CEO following the resignation of Mr Elmer Funke from the role earlier in the year. Stevens joined ASX as an independent non-executive director in 2013.
Meanwhile, Tabcorp Holdings Limited (ASX: TAH) has proposed a 100% acquisition of the listed Intecq Ltd (ASX: ITQ) for total cash consideration of $7.15 per share. That would represent a premium of 31% to Intecq's closing price of $5.44 on Friday, suggesting the share price will rocket higher today.
In broker news, Credit Suisse has responded to ResMed Inc. (CHESS)'s (ASX: RMD) recent earnings result by raising its price target on the stock by 7.1% to $9.80. The shares closed at $9.20 on Friday.
