A man smokes while he walks past the Reserve Bank of Australia building in central Sydney April 21, 2009.
IN PHOTO: A man smokes while he walks past the Reserve Bank of Australia building in central Sydney April 21, 2009. Australia is in the midst of its first recession since 1991, the head of the country's central bank bluntly stated on Tuesday, though he also saw a range of reasons to be confident in the longer-term outlook. REUTERS/Daniel Munoz
  • Australian shares are rising for the first time in more than a week with the ASX 200 Index up 0.2 per cent. The Aussie market has shed close to 3 per cent in just six days however. Tonight’s Federal Budget at 7.30pm AEST will be a highlight for economists and households this week.
  • National Australia Bank (NAB) has resumed trade after entering a halt last Thursday for a capital raising. NAB has raised approximately $2.7bn from institutional investors and is expected to raise a similar amount from the retail offer. NAB aims to exit its struggling UK interests but has to strengthen its UK bank’s balance sheet first. NAB trades ex-dividend this Friday.
  • Mining stocks are up 1 per cent with the larger resource companies doing best at lunch. BHP Billiton (BHP) is up 1.3 per cent. with the miner’s demerger now less than a week away. BHP will be splitting in two on 18 May. The Minerals Council of Australia has rejected Andrew Forrest’s suggestion that government should intervene in ore markets. The iron ore price has slumped by more than 40 per cent over the past 12 months and Fortescue Metals (FMG) is down 2.3 per cent.
  • Qantas (QAN) is up 6.9 per cent as it holds its investor day presentation with shareholders. QAN said it expects fuel costs to fall by ~$550m over FY15 and is on track to cut debt by $1bn. QAN said it may be in a position to consider paying dividends out to investors in the near future. April 2009 was the last time QAN shared its profits with investors. QAN shares are up 47 per cent this calendar year after rising by 120 per cent in 2014.
  • CSR Limited (CSR) is up 7.2 per cent after reporting a 43 per cent rise in annual profit to $125.5m, a 16 per cent improvement in revenue and a more than doubling in its final dividend to 11.5c/s unfranked. The building materials company is in its fourth year of gains on the local market.
  • Coca-Cola Amatil (CCL) is up 3.6 per cent and is holding its AGM. CCL said it’s on track to return to mid-single digit profit growth over the next few years. CCL is behind brands like Fanta, Sprite, Powerade, Mother, Kirks, Deep-Spring, SPC and Coke.
  • Volume is well above average ahead of the Federal Budget with 1bn shares traded worth $3.3bn. 407 stocks are up, 382 down and 289 are unchanged.
  • The USD remained firm on comments by FOMC voter John Williams stating that every meeting is “on the table” for the Fed to begin lifting rates. Williams expects growth to bounce back in the Q2 and the unemployment rate to fall to 5% or even lower by year end. The direct impact of tonight’s Federal Budget should be minimal for the Australian dollar, as it has been over recent years. AUD/NZD has reached 5 month highs around 1.0760 as NZ wage and price indicators soften amid expectations of a RBNZ rate cut.
Steven Daghlian - Market Analyst (Author)
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