The ISM index for New York rose from 536.5 to 543.1 in February. And the weekly Economic Cycle Research Institute index rose from 123.2 to a near seven month high of 124.2.

European shares were mixed on Friday in thin trade with markets lacking economic, debt or corporate news to drive activity. The benchmark FTSEurofirst 300 index was flat while the UK FTSE and German Dax lost 0.3pct. Resource stocks eased in response to weaker commodity prices with BHP Billiton down by 0.8pct in London trade and Rio Tinto down 1.0pct.

US sharemarkets eased modestly in thin trade on Friday as investors elected to book profits. Energy shares fell as oil prices retreated but telecom stocks rose. The Dow Jones index fell by just 2.7pts or less than 0.1pct. The S&P 500 fell by 0.3pct and the Nasdaq eased by almost 13pts or 0.4pct. But over the week the S&P 500 and Nasdaq posted their eighth straight week of gains. The S&P 500 rose by 0.3pct, the Nasdaq rose 0.4pct but the Dow Jones lost 0.05pct.

US long-term treasury prices rose for the first time in four days on Friday (yields lower), supported in part by Federal Reserve purchases of 30-year bonds. As part of the ´´Operation Twist´´ program, the Fed bought US$1.97 billion of Treasuries. Operation Twist refers to the policy designed to sell shorter-dated securities and buy longer-term bonds to help keep long-term interest rates low. US 2yr yields fell by 2pts to 0.28pct and US 10yr yields fell by 5pts to 1.98pct. Over the week US 2yr yields fell by 3pts but US 10yr yields were steady.

Major currencies eased against the greenback in European and US trade on Friday. The Euro fell from near US$1.3310 to around US$1.3185, and ended New York trade near US$1.3190. The euro is at US$1.3180 this morning. The Aussie dollar eased from highs around US107.50c to near US107.25c, and was close to US107.25c in late US trade. And the Japanese yen eased from 81.38 yen per US dollar to JPY81.86 and was near JPY81.77 in late US trade.

Benchmark crude oil prices fell on Friday after Saudi Arabia confirmed that there had been no attacks on oil pipelines in the Kingdom. Reports of a pipeline explosion in Saudi Arabia had pushed up oil prices on Thursday. US Nymex fell by US$2.14 or 1.9pct to US$106.70 a barrel while London Brent crude fell by US$2.55 to US$123.65 a barrel. Over the week Nymex crude fell by 2.8pct while Brent lost 2.0pct.

Base metal prices were mixed on Friday. Lead rose 1.0pct and zinc rose 0.7pct but other metals fell up to 1.1pct. Over the week base metal prices were also mixed with copper and zinc higher but other metals lower. Nickel lost 3.5pct. The gold price fell again on Friday as the US dollar rose. The Comex April gold price fell by US$12.40 or 0.7pct to US$1,709.80 an ounce. Over the week gold fell by US$66.60 an ounce or 3.7pct. Gold is up 9pct this year.

Ahead: In Australia, the Performance of Services index, job advertisements, monthly inflation gauge and Business Indicators are released. In the US, the ISM services index and revised durable goods orders data are released.