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 0.6% lower, following leads from Wall Street.On Friday, the Dow Jones dropped 1%, the broader S&P 500 fell 0.8%, while the NASDAQ lost 0.7%, as concerns rise that the European Central Bank's bond-buying program may not meet investor's expectations. And that was despite the US economy creating 252,000 jobs in December – ahead of economist's forecasts.
Spot iron ore prices fell, losing US18 cents to US$71.18 per tonne, while Brent Oil was down again, losing US85 cents to US$50.11 per barrel.
The Australian dollar is buying US82.03 cents.
- Resources companies are likely to be in focus today, following further falls in the iron ore price, and copper futures fell to the lowest price since June 2010. 3-month copper prices hit US$6,081 a tonne on Friday, and further falls are expected.Iron ore prices also fell but remain above US$70 per tonne. That may not be the case for long though, with expectations of further falls. For companies like Rio Tinto Limited (ASX: RIO), which is virtually a pure iron ore play these days and BHP Billiton Limited (ASX: BHP), which counts iron ore, copper and oil as three of its major commodities, the news is not good.
While neither is likely to go bust, earnings in 2015 will be hammered, and dividends likely cut.
- Fairfax Media Limited (ASX: FXJ) has boosted its ownership of Metro Media Publishing Holdings (MMPH) from 50% to full ownership, acquiring the remaining half it did not own for $72 million. MMPH has majority interests in 15 weekly real estate and lifestyle magazines and newspapers in Victoria, as well as property business reviewproperty.com.au.The move is likely to strengthen its Domain property offering in its continuing struggle with market leader REA Group Limited (ASX: REA) and realestate.com.au. REA's shares were down 0.4%, while Fairfax' shares were up 0.6% in early trading.
- Tweet of the Day
They say buy what you know: So is it time to go shopping for Woolworths? $WOW #ausbiz https://t.co/lMTeEb5JqO
The Motley Fool Aust (@TheMotleyFoolAu) January 11, 2015Woolworths Limited (ASX: WOW) shares are trading slightly above $30 – is it time to have a closer look at one of Australia's best businesses?
- Stock of the Day – brought to you by Tim McArthur – BHP Billiton Limited (ASX: BHP). The global resources giant is spinning off its non-core assets into a new company called 'South32'. In this article, Tim outlines his thoughts on why it's a 'must-own' stock.
