The market is down 9. The SFE Futures were up 13 this morning. Seems the 81 point bounce in the ASX 200 yesterday has taken strong Chinese economic numbers into account already.

The Dow Jones closed up 123 points overnight and was up as much as 168. Retail sales fell in May but were better than expected. China raised its banks’ reserve requirements as inflation data came in above target. Commodities were up – the oil price gained $2.07 to $99.37 and the gold price was up $8.80 to $1524.40. The Aussie dollar rose to 106.80 from 106.13c.

In the news today…

  • Glenn Stevens the RBA Governor talks on “Economic conditions and prospects” at lunchtime.
  • US CPI numbers tonight as well as Industrial Production and the Empire State manufacturing index.
  • QBE Insurance Group (QBE) down 3.7% to their lowest in over 6 months after announcing unprecedented catastrophe claims for the first 5 months of 2011, still within annual provisions depending on the rest of the year.
  • Fosters (FGL) – By all accounts Grupo Modelo held their board meeting yesterday but did not vote on whether to bid for Fosters. FGL down 2c to 463c.
  • Fairfax (FXJ) – A consortium led by Ron Walker and John Wylie have approached the Fairfax CEO for informal and exploratory talks about buying The Age and 3AW (the Melbourne assets). By all accounts the suggestion was swiftly shot down by the board. FXJ down 1c to 98c.
  • Rio Tinto (RIO) confirmed it will hit its target of producing 333mtpa of iron ore from the Pilbara by H1 2015, 6 months ahead of schedule. RIO down 10c to 8011c.
  • Centro Properties (CNP) has entered a trading halt saying that they face legal action. CNP last traded at 4.8c
  • Qantas (QAN) said it now expects to take delivery of 34 aircraft in 2011/12, down from 43 planned previously. QAN unchanged at 188.5c.
  • Watpac (WTP) has secured 2 major development contracts in Melbourne worth $165m. WTP up 2.2%.
  • Nufarm (NUF) have cut full-year operating profit by $21m because of an ongoing legal dispute. NUF up 1.9%.
  • The WBC-Melbourne Institute Index of Consumer Sentiment fell 2.6% in June to 101.2, from 103.9 in May. The lowest level since June 2009 on fears that interest rates will rise soon.
  • Housing starts rose 3.1% in the March quarter, but were down 12.9% compared to the same time in 2010.

For a free 5 day obligation FREE TRIAL of the MARCUS TODAY newsletter Click Here. You will receive our renowned and popular Daily email about the stockmarket with all the stuff you need to know ahead of the trading day including:

  • Overnight developments, news, comments, rumours, broker recommendations and ideas from Marcus and his Team.
  • Our Recommended Portfolio which is actively managed on behalf of subscribers.…no “set & forget”. Everything you need to effortlessly managed your own long term investment portfolio. It includes Income Portfolio recommendations.
  • Daily Technical Trading ideas and data, including daily scans of the ASX 300 for stocks changing trend.
  • Stock Database – all the numbers with comments on the top 300 stocks and more.
  • Educational section – Marcus’s Educational and Entertaining articles.

We also offer a FREE END OF DAY EMAIL  — Click here —  A free summary of the day in the market.

Subscribe to MARCUS TODAY  — Click Here. We are sure you will enjoy and profit from what we offer…we have one of the highest re-subscription rates in the financial newsletter industry.