The S&P/ASX 200 (Index ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) barely budged on Thursday, and that trend is expected to continue today when the market opens. The Sydney Futures Exchange is pointing to a mere 1 point decline when trading begins, with the Australian dollar down sharply overnight.
Here's a quick recap:
- FTSE 100 (UK): up 0.07%
- DAX (Germany): up 0.52%
- CAC 40 (France): up 0.44%
- Dow Jones (USA): down 0.22%
- NASDAQ (USA): down 0.09%
BHP Billiton Limited (ASX: BHP) will likely receive some attention today following reports that its Chairman, Jac Nasser, will step down next year.
BHP's fellow energy producer Santos Ltd (ASX: STO) will release its third quarter activities report which investors will likely also pour over.
Elsewhere in the resources industry, gold miners St Barbara Ltd (ASX: SBM) and Silver Lake Resources Limited (ASX: SLR) will look to hold onto yesterday's strong gains. The spot gold price did slip marginally overnight, however, which could weigh on their progress.
Crown Resorts Ltd (ASX: CWN) will remain in the spotlight today. Its shares have been crushed this week following the arrests of 18 of its staff members in China.
Fellow entertainment and gaming businesses SKYCITY Entertainment Group Limited-Ord (ASX: SKC) and Star Entertainment Group Ltd (ASX: SGR) have also been hit hard this week.
Unfortunately, SKYCITY could come under further pressure today. It released a disappointing update on its first-quarter operations, stating that group normalised revenue was down 5.7% on the prior corresponding period.
Finally, Healthscope Ltd (ASX: HSO) also told investors it had experienced slower-than-expected revenue growth in hospitals during the first quarter, and could thus come under pressure today.
