Australian market poised to open higher later this morning following a rise in US shares overnight amidst expectations the European Central Bank may announce more economic stimulus following a December policy stance review.

The December SPI futures contract is up 82 points at 5,314.

Locally, no major economic news is expected today.

In equities space, Santos is expected to post its third quarter production report, ResMed is due to release its first quarter results while AMP is slated to give a third quarter cashflow update.

Key Numbers:

SPI up 82 points at 5314

AUD at 72.06 US cents

Dow Jones +1.82%, S&P500 +1.55%, Nasdaq +1.49%

FTSE100 +0.44%, CAC +2.28%, DAX +2.48%

Spot gold down 0.11% at $US1165.91 an ounce

Brent oil up 0.84% at $US48.25 a barrel

Iron ore down 1.16% at $US52.18 a tonne

Stocks in focus:

BHP open to using debt to pay dividends: BHP Billiton is ready to consider taking on debt in the short-run to cover its policy of increasing dividend payouts each year.

KKR, TPG potential buyers of Big W: Global buyout firms have made preliminary approaches to Woolworths to express interest in its Big W discount store chain.

The post Morning market update 23 October, 2015 appeared first on Market Pulse.