US Overnight Markets
Wall Street’s spectacular run hit a speed bump, with investors pausing to digest gains and pondering how far the rally can go in an economy showing signs of recovery along with lingering weakness. The main stock indexes pulled back from a four-week run that saw gains of some 15 percent for the board market. The Dow Jones Industrial Average of blue chips fell 0.82 percent or 76.79 point to 9,321.40 on Friday after notching a fresh nine-month high earlier in the week. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index shed 8.64 points, or 0.85 percent to 1,004.09 while the tech-dominated Nasdaq retreated 23.83 points, or 1.19 percent, to 1,985.52.

Australian Markets
The Australian sharemarket is expected to open lower after a fall on Wall Street on Friday and Weaker commodity prices. At 0749 AEST on the Sydney Future Exchange, the September share price index contract was 28 points lower at 4397. The August reporting season continues on Monday with gloves and condoms maker Ansell Ltd, iiNet Ltd and BlueScope Steel Ltd Releasing their annual results. Annual results are also due from private health insurance company NIB Holdings Ltd. Transfield Services Infrastructure Fund, Austin Engineering Ltd and The Mac Services Group Ltd. On Friday, The Australian share market closed on Friday at its strongest finish since October 8 last year on increasing investor optimism about the economic outlook following a string of better than expected profit results. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index had risen 25.1 points, or 0.57 percent, to 4461, while the broader All Ordinaries index had lifted 28.4 points, or 0.64 percent, to 4465.1.

Stocks in The News
BSL – BLUESCOPE STEEL LTD – up five cents at $3.30. Annual results due.

BHP – BHP BILLITON LTD – steady at $38.26 Ratings agency Moody’s has reaffirmed BHP Billiton’s A1 rating following the company’s full year results released on Wednesday.

ORG – ORIGIN ENERGY LTD – up 24 cents at $15.25. NZ’d Contact Energy, majority owned by Origin, has reported a 50.4 percent fall in full year net profit to $NZ117.5 million ($A94.75 million), jurt by transmission constraints and the need to buy electricity at high wholesale prices in last winter’s drought.