The first day of September seems to begin well with the Sydney Futures Exchange.

The September share price index contract was up by 41 points to 4428. Market shares trading is expected to bring in gains inspite of the S&P500 rising less than a point to 1049.33 and the record declines in the Tokyo market.

Overnight, the European markets were higher. The FTSE 100 went up 23.66 points to 5225.22. Precious metals like gold climbed $US11.10 an ounce to $US1250.30. However, oil went down fell $US2.78 a barrel to $US71.92.

Stocks to watch on Wednesday trading are Halcygen Pharmaceuticals Limited, Linq Resources Fund, Aevum Limited, Stockland, and BHP Billiton. Halcygen expects underlying earnings in the 2011 financial year to at least equal to those in 2010. The pharmaceuticals company is steady at 58 cents.

The management investment company Linq closed on Tuesday at 68 cents. It disclosed a full net profit for the 2010 financial year. Aevum closed at $1.68 while Stockland at $3.94. The controversial mining giant BHP Billiton closed at $37.05.

The sandalwood grower TFS Corporation Limited could deserve a close look as its shares were up 4.5 cents at 81.5 cents. The Corporation holds a positive outlook for 2011 after the company booked a higher annual net profit.