The market is up 30. SFE Futures were up 23 this morning.

Dow Jones closed. US markets were closed for a second day as Hurricane Sandy hit the north-east region. Markets are scheduled to re-open tonight in the US. The US CaseShiller home index was up 0.5% in August which was in line with forecasts. Home prices are 2.0% higher than a year ago. The Dallas Federal Reserve index was down from 15.0 to 13.5 in October with the Texas services index down from 10.1 to 9.3. European markets mixed on light volumes — UK FTSE up 0.95%, German DAX up 1.13%, France up 1.48%, Spain down 0.60%, Italy down 1.51% and Greece down 0.50%. The Stoxx Europe 600 index up 0.9% — According to Bloomberg, total shares traded on the Stoxx 600 on the day was 44% below the 30 day average. Metals mixed — copper down 1.25%, nickel up 0.30%, aluminium down 0.71% and zinc up 1.14%. Oil down 43c to $85.62. Demand for gasoline in the US north-east is expected to fall in response to economic disruption caused by Hurricane Sandy.

  • National Australia Bank (NAB) — FY result slightly below consensus — Cash earnings fell by 0.5% to $5.4 billion which was slightly below a consensus estimate of $5.6 billion. Net profit fell by $1.1 billion to $4.1 billion down from $5.2 billion. NAB is down 0.66% to 2572c.
  • Envestra (ENV) — AGM — Company maintained guidance for a profit of around $100 million for 2012-13. Victorian investment program is under review following Energy Regulator’s “draft decisions” which outlined a $230 million capital expenditure program for 2012-13. ENV is up 0.84% to 89.75c.
  • Oil Search (OSH) — Has secured a five year US$500 million revolving credit facility. The new corporate facility replaces the previous US$435 million amortising facility that was due to expire in September 2013. Managing director Peter Botten said “given the strong demand from existing and new lenders, we have increased the size of the facility from our original target of US$400 million to US$500 million.” OSH  is flat at 740c.
  • Leighton Holdings (LEI) — September Quarter result — Net profit of $317 million for the September Q which compares with a $325 million loss for the same period a year ago. The company also maintained profit guidance for FY13 to be in the range of $400-$450 million. The company also noted that they have completed the Airport Link project in Brisbane and substantially advanced the Victorian Desalination Project. Work in hand was $45.3 billion in line with June 2012 levels. LEI is down 1.64% to 1800c.
  • Kingsgate Consolidated (KCN) — first quarter production report — Gold output at 44,264 oz up 34%. Cash costs were down 13% to US$712 per pound. The company maintained FY13 Gold output guidance at 200,000-220,000oz. KCN is up 0.18% to 542c.
  • Telstra (TLS) — Released their investor day presentation slides — 2013 guidance was maintained and the company is on track to deliver their 2012-13 commitments. Telstra says they have the right strategy to take advantage of market trends. TLS is up 0.97% to 415c.
  • Australian residential building approvals rose 7.8% to 13,388 units in September above an expected 1% rise.

For a 5 day 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 Portfolio recommendations which is actively managed on behalf of subscribers … no “set and forget”. Everything you need to effortlessly managed your own long term investment portfolio.         
  • 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.

Subscribe to MARCUS TODAY.  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.