The S&P/ASX 200 (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) is set to rise again today, with the Sydney Futures Exchange pointing to a 0.3% lift at the open. Corporate earnings results will continue to command the market's attention, with a number of big-name businesses set to report their results today.
- FTSE 100 (UK): up 0.59%
- DAX (Germany): up 0.94%
- CAC 40 (France): up 0.72%
- Dow Jones (USA): up 0.1%
- NASDAQ (USA): up 0.3%
Wesfarmers Ltd (ASX: WES) is the biggest company due to report, and will capture much of the market's attention for the day.
Global shopping centre giant Westfield Corp Ltd (ASX: WFD) is also expected to report, together with APA Group (ASX: APA) and Qantas Airways Limited (ASX: QAN).
Other companies expected to report include gold miners St Barbara Ltd (ASX: SBM) and Boral Limited (ASX: BLD), as well as Hansen Technologies Limited (ASX: HSN) and recent ASX debutant WiseTech Global Ltd (ASX: WTC).
Mining services businesses will also be in focus today. Shares of Monadelphous Group Limited (ASX: MND), Bradken Limited (ASX: BKN) and Ausdrill Limited (ASX: ASL) were all crushed on Tuesday, falling 17.8%, 1.8% and 6.1% for the session, respectively, so investors will pray for a tamer session.
Likewise, gold miners such as Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST) and Beadell Resources Ltd (ASX: BLD) could dip further after gold prices recorded a minor decline overnight.
Finally, investors could take another look at out-of-home advertising businesses oOh!Media Ltd (ASX: OML) and APN Outdoor Group Ltd (ASX: APO). The pair were hammered on Monday but showed signs of life on Tuesday, although APN Outdoor still ended the session slightly lower.
