ASX futures are pointing to a higher open as Wall St advanced in a relief rally triggered by a bounce in oil.
Key numbers:
- SPI futures up 67 pts or 1.4% at 4945
- AUD 69.79 US cents, 82.57 Japanese yen, 64.35 Euro cents and 48.49 British pence
- On Wall St, late, S&P 500 +2%, Dow +1.9%, Nasdaq +2.6%
- In Europe, Stoxx 50 -1.6%, FTSE -0.7%, CAC -1.8%, DAX -1.7%
- In London, BHP Billiton +6%, Rio Tinto +3.1%
- Spot gold -1.5% to $US1076.91 at 3.01pm in New York
- Brent crude +2.3% to $US31.00 at 2.29pm New York time
- Iron ore +1.8% to $US40.22
What’s on today:
Australia housing finance.
China December money supply
US December retail sales, December industrial production, producer prices, Empire State manufacturing, Michigan consumer sentiment, business inventories
Earnings: US Bancorp, BlackRock, Wells Fargo, Citigroup.
New York Fed chief William Dudley will speak.
Stocks in focus:
Brokerage firms Morgan Stanley and Citigroup have upgraded mining giant BHP Billiton. The miner was upgraded to “over-weight” from “equal-weight” by Morgan Stanley while CitiGroup changed the stock’s rating to “buy” from “neutral”.
Deutsche Bank maintains its “hold’ recommendation for Coca-Cola Amatil (ASX: CCL) and has a target price of $9.
Credit Suisse revises its investment rating to “outperform” for (ASX: JBH) and upgraded its target price to $25.05.