Australian Stock Market Report – Midday 5/22/13

MIDDAY REPORT

(12pm AEST)

The Australian share market is trading slightly lower in the early session, despite record highs being reached on Wall Street overnight. The US Dow Jones Index made it 19 consecutive Tuesday wins, while the broader share market and NASDAQ Indices were higher for the 9th consecutive Tuesday.

Locally, we are seeing weakness from financial players which is weighing on the overall market. Shares in the ANZ (ANZ) are off by 1.3 per cent.

Seven West Media (SWM) which yesterday announced Tim Worner as its incoming CEO, has dipped by almost 9 per cent to $2.075 after confirming that US private equity firm KKR has sold its 12 per cent $265 million stake in the media company. A mix of institutional and professional investors bought the stake at $2.21 per share, a three per cent discount to yesterday's close.

Myer Limited (MYR) has today reported its third quarter sales numbers. They were up 0.5 per cent in the 13 weeks to April 27 to $652.5 million. The result was slightly below expectations and MYR shares are down 2.2 per cent in the early session to $2.71.

In economic news today, the Westpac/Melbourne Institute index of consumer sentiment fell by 7.0 per cent in May to 97.6. The index is up 2.4 per cent over the year. All five components of the index fell in May: The estimate of family finances compared with a year ago fell by 8.0 per cent; The estimate of family finances over the next year fell by 7.0 per cent; Economic conditions over the next 12 months fell by 13.4 per cent; Economic conditions over the next 5 years fell by 6.9 per cent; The measure on whether it was a good time to buy a major household item fell by 1.3 per cent.

The Australian dollar remains below parity against the greenback but could receive an uptick tonight when US Federal Reserve President Ben Bernanke testifies before Congress in Washington. It's widely expected he won't announce a winding back of the QE3 program.

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