The market is down 29. The SFE Futures were down 22 this morning.

The Dow Jones closed up 13 on Friday. The Dow was up 55 at best and down 27 at worst and closed stronger for the third straight week. The S&P increased 1.5% last week for its longest streak of weekly gains since April. Economic data came in better than expected and Microsoft put on nearly 6% for the week on talk they were planning on selling debt. Gold hit another record high and oil fell 91c to $73.66.

Today’s main points…

  • Quiet week ahead — we have earnings results from three retailers (DJS, PMV and KMD) and the RBA Minutes tomorrow but not much after that. FOMC likely to keep rates between 0-75%.
  • Actividades de Construccion says they will not make a takeover offer for Leighton Holdings (LEI) if they acquire control of LEI’s majority shareholder Hochtief AG. Their general manager said — “It is by no means necessary to make an offer on Leighton…and we do not plan any”. LEI down 60c to 3342c.
  • James Hardie (JHX) will appeal a recent decision that supported a tax ruling against the company over its 1998 corporate restructure. JHX down 9c to 555c.
  • Resolute Mining (RSG) raised $40m to assist in closing out their gold hedge book. RSG up 8% to 141.5c.
  • MAp has released their August traffic numbers — Sydney Airport was up 7.6% on last year, Copenhagen Airport up 12.9% and Brussels Airport 2.4%. MAP up 1c to 313c.
  • Banpu has extended their offer period for Centennial Coal (CEY) by a week to October 5. Banpu currently owns 36% of CEY shares. CEY now at 607c, 13c below the 620c takeover offer.
  • The AFR reports that ConocoPhillips has put their stake in the Caldita and Barossa gas field in the Timor Sea up for sale.
  • The CEO of SABMiller admits he has done due diligence on Foster’s (FGL) beer division, but remains cautious about major acquisitions. Carlsberg’s CEO has signaled the group is more focused on Asian acquisitions than Fosters.
  • Notable stocks going ex dividend today include: Billabong (18c), BlueScope Steel (5c), Primary Health Care (10c), REA Group (16c), Webjet (5.5c) and The Reject Shop (28c).
  • Stocks hitting fresh yearly highs today: Bradken (BKN), Fleetwood (FWD), Healthscope (HSP) and Lycopodium (LYC).

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