MORNING MARKET REPORT Friday, 16 May 2008  

(Oil is the June contract on the NY Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX). Gold also is the June contract on the COMEX division of the NY Mercantile Exchange, while Silver is the July contract on the COMEX.)

NEW YORK - US stocks rose in light trading on Thursday as a pullback in oil prices eased concerns about inflation and a battle to control Yahoo Inc boosted the tech sector.
The S&P 500 and Nasdaq had their highest closes since January 3. News late in the session that key members of the US Senate reached a deal on a housing rescue plan raised hopes for the beleaguered home market.
Investors poured into technology stocks after financier Carl Icahn started a proxy battle to get control of Yahoo and force it to strike a deal with Microsoft Corp.
Retailers’ shares benefitted after JC Penney Co Inc said its earnings in the current quarter could top analysts’ forecasts. The outlook drove JC Penney’s battered stock up 4.7 per cent to $46.32 even though it posted a 50 per cent profit drop in the first quarter.
The Dow Jones industrial average shot up 94.28 points, or 0.73 per cent, to end at 12,992.66. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index rose 14.91 points, or 1.06 per cent, to 1,423.57. The Nasdaq Composite Index climbed 37.03 points, or 1.48 per cent, to close at 2,533.73.

LONDON - Britain’s blue-chip index ended up 0.6 per cent boosted by a flurry of results, while rising US crude and metal prices sent heavyweight commodity shares higher.
The FTSE 100 gained 35.8 points at 6,251.8 but is still down over 3 per cent this year.

FRANKFURT - The DAX index ended at 7081.05 points, down 2.19 or 0.03 per cent.

PARIS - The CAC-40 index closed at 5057.51 points, up 2.27 or 0.04 per cent.

TOKYO - Japan’s Nikkei stock average climbed 0.9 per cent to a four-month closing peak, led higher by growing market confidence symbolised by Sony, which had its greatest one-day gain in nearly seven months after forecasting a bigger profit than expected.
The Nikkei closed up 133.19 points at 14,251.74 after rising as far as 14,352.84 for its fourth straight day of gains, with profit-taking emerging around 14,350. It was the highest close since January 10.

HONG KONG - Hong Kong stocks slipped, in line with Shanghai’s index, as cautious investors shrugged off regional gains and offloaded shares, but Hutchison Whampoa jumped after a broker upgrade.
The Hang Seng Index closed down 0.08 per cent, or 19.77 points, at 25,513.71.

WELLINGTON - Market leaders overrode positive leads from offshore, and pushed the top 50 index in New Zealand down 0.4 per cent.
The NZSX-50 benchmark index closed down 14.3 points at 3614.23 on turnover valued at $NZ137.2 million ($A112.14 million), having fallen 0.6 per cent yesterday.

SYDNEY - The Australian market has received positive leads all around this morning, with Wall Street up markedly, base metal prices in London also very robust, and the futures index in Sydney also points the market higher.
At 0801 AEST on the Sydney Futures exchange, the June share price index was up 66 points at 5,975.
There are no local economic data scheduled for release today, but Reserve Bank assistant governor, financial markets, Guy Debelle, speaks in Adelaide at a symposium sponsors by Flinders International Asia Pacific Institute and Flinders Business School, on `A comparison of the US and Australian mortgage markets’.
In equities, Investec Bank Australia Ltd releasess annual results, and Bell Financial Group and Pacifica Group Ltd hold their annual general meetings.
Woolworths managing director Michael Luscombe speaks at an Australia Israel Chamber of Commerce lunch.
The Australian market closed at a four month high yesterday after shares in BHP Billiton soared to a record peak on speculation that Chinese investors were circling the global miner.
The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index rose to its highest close since mid-January, adding 60.0 points, or 1.03 per cent, to 5,872.7, while the broader All Ordinaries gained 57.1 points, or 0.97 per cent, to 5940.3.

LONDON METAL EXCHANGE

Aluminium jumped to a three-week high today as investors piled into the metal in expectation of supply shortfalls from China, while tin hit a record high.
Copper, taking its lead from aluminium, also rose more than 2 per cent to $US8,305, but analysts said an absence of Chinese buyers would cap prices.
Aluminium for delivery in three months on the London Metal Exchange touched $US3,027 a tonne, the highest since April 24 and ended at $US3,010 a tonne, up from $US2,938 a tonne at the close on Wednesday.
Tin touched an all-time high of $US25,500 a tonne. It was untraded at the close but bid at $US25,250 from Wednesday’s last bid at $US25,150.
Copper ended up at $US8,296 a tonne from $US8,120 on Wednesday.
Stocks in LME warehouses stand at just under 121,000 tonnes from below 110,000 earlier this month.
Copper hit a record high of $US8,880 a tonne on April 17 as the market fretted about miners’ strikes in Chile and Peru.
Zinc rose to $US2,315 from $US2,285 on Wednesday. The metal used to galvanise steel has been buoyed by news of supply disruptions in China after the earthquake.
Lead ended higher at $US2,275 a tonne from $US2,255, while nickel slipped to $US26,305 compared with Wednesday’s last bid at $US26,500.

NYMEX

Oil prices declined after soaring close to record highs in volatile trade stoked by concerns about stretched global energy supplies.
New York’s main oil futures contract, light sweet crude for June delivery, dipped 10 cents to close at $US124.12 a barrel. The contract had earlier spiked to $US126.64, which was not far off Tuesday’s record high of $US126.98.
In London, a benchmark Brent crude futures contract for June delivery settled 61 cents lower at $US121.25 dollars.

COMEX

Gold rose for the first time this week on speculation higher energy costs and a weaker dollar will boost demand for the precious metal as a hedge against inflation. Silver also gained.
Gold is still down 15 per cent from a record $1,033.90 an ounce on March 17, when oil and the euro set previous highs.
Gold futures for June delivery climbed $13.50, or 1.6 per cent, to $880 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. Earlier, the price reached $888.50. The metal has climbed 5 per cent this year.
Silver futures for July delivery rose 7.2 cents, or 0.4 per cent, to $16.685 an ounce. The price has advanced 12 per cent this