Stocks to watch at the open
CSL
Competitor to CSL, Baxter International, has submitted an application to the European Medicines Agency to approve its Haemophilia B drug.
The threat for CSL is it will not be able to compete with new haemophilia therapies, losing market share and earnings along the way.
CSL closed at any all-time high yesterday, and earlier this week Credit Suisse raised its target price to $74.55 with an outperform outlook.
David Jones
Today David Jones reports its sales for the first quarter.
Statistics show August was a challenging month for retail, but conditions may have improved following the election early in September.
Total sales analyst estimates for the period for David Jones range from flat to an increase of over 2 per cent. The market is likely to have a bad reaction to negative figures, especially as the department store is still without a replacement for recently resigned chief executive Paul Zahra.
The analyst consensus for David Jones is negative, with the majority of views either a sell or underperform.
Newcrest Mining
Spot gold slipped 1.5 per cent to close at $US1,324.26. Inflation slowed in the eurozone more than forecast, encouraging losses in the precious metal. Falling inflation doesn’t bode well for the price of gold, and suggests further losses could be on the cards in the short term.
Newcrest’s September quarter production numbers were impressive, but continuing volatility in the gold price is creating cash flow uncertainty for the struggling miner.
Trading at $10.30, Newcrest is nearing yearly lows.