Reuters: Hot Stocks: Australia shares seen extending gains on Fed comments

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Australia shares seen extending gains on Fed comments Feb 27th 2013, 22:39 Tweet Share this Email Print Wed Feb 27, 2013 5:39pm EST SYDNEY, Feb 28 (Reuters) - Australian shares are set for a strong start on Thursday, with sentiment boosted by strong gains on Wall Street after U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke made it clear there was no intention to end policy stimulus earlier than expected. * Local share price index futures gained 0.8 percent to 5,061, a 24.4-point premium to the underlying S&P/ASX 200 index close. The benchmark rose 0.7 percent on Wednesday. * New Zealand's benchmark NZX 50 index rose 0.5 percent to 4,296.7 in early trade. * U.S. stocks rose on Wednesday, with major indexes posting their best daily gains since early January, as Bernanke remained steadfast in supporting the Fed's stimulus policy and data pointed to economic improvement. * Copper was steady, supported by a weaker dollar and the Fed's reassurance it would continue monetary stimulus, but lacklustre demand from top consumer China kept a lid on gains. * Spot iron ore prices steadied after falling to one-month lows, supported by a potential disruption in supply from top exporter Australia, although weaker steel prices in China are keeping buying interest for the raw material in check. * Australia's top supermarket chain Woolworths posted a 4.2 percent rise in its first-half profit and slightly upgraded its full year guidance while noting challenging trading conditions in retail. * Treasury Wine Estates Ltd, the world's second-largest wine company, posted a 23 percent fall in its first-half profit, dragged down by falling sales in the United Kingdom, higher costs and a poor vintage. ------------------MARKET SNAPSHOT @ 2152 GMT ----------------- INSTRUMENT LAST PCT CHG NET CHG S&P 500 1515.99 1.27% 19.050 USD/JPY 92.12 0.16% 0.150 10-YR US TSY YLD 1.9014 -- 0.015 SPOT GOLD 1596.9 -0.02% -0.310 US CRUDE 92.86 0.25% 0.230 DOW JONES 14075.37 1.26% 175.24 ASIA ADRS 136.08 0.35% 0.48 -------------------------------------------------------------- * Wall St gains on Bernanke comments, S&P above 1,500 * Brent falls near month-low under $112 * Gold down 1 pct on U.S. Fed policy and budget cuts * Copper steady after Fed defends easing, dlr weakens For a digest of the day's business stories in Australian newspapers, double click on (Reporting by Maggie Lu Yueyang; Editing by John Mair) Tweet this Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints Comments (0) Be the first to comment on reuters.com. Add yours using the box above.

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