Australian Stock Market Report – Morning 11/27/13

US MORNING REPORT
(8.00am AEDT)

In US economic news, the S&P Case-Shiller house price index rose by another 1.03pct in September taking annual house price growth to 13.3pct. Building permits jumped by 6.2pct to 1.034 million in October. The Richmond Fed index bounced from +1 to +13 in November. The Conference Board consumer confidence index fell from 72.4 to 70.4 in November - a 7-month low, but confidence remains in a gradual uptrend.

European shares fell in brisk volumes on Tuesday, as corporate profit warnings and lower-than-expected US consumer confidence data spooked investors. The blue-chip Euro STOXX 50 index fell by 0.3pct. The FTSEurofirst 300 index fell by 0.6pct, the German Dax lost 0.1pct and the UK FTSE fell 0.9pct. In UK trade, shares in BHP Billiton fell by 1.8pct while Rio Tinto lost 1.7pct.

US sharemarkets inched higher on Tuesday, although investors remained cautious given the market's recent rally. Volumes were thin in a holiday shortened week. Tiffany & Co. jumped 7.1pct and was the best performer on the S&P 500 after the luxury retailer reported third quarter sales that topped expectations and raised its full-year profit forecasts. The S&P retail index lifted by 0.7pct. At the close of trade, the Dow Jones was unchanged, with the S&P 500 also flat while the Nasdaq lifted 23pts or 0.6pct.

US long-dated treasuries rose on Tuesday (yields lower) as mixed economic data raised hopes the Federal Reserve would continue its bond-buying program into the New Year. Liquidity remained light in a holiday shortened week. US 2yr yields were flat at 0.29pct while US 10yr yields were down 3pts to 2.71pct.

The US dollar fell against the Euro in European and US trade on Tuesday. The Euro rose from lows near US$1.3520 to highs near US$1.3580 and was heading into the US close near US$1.3570. The Aussie dollar touched early highs near US92.00c before falling to lows near US90.90c and ending US trade near US91.20c. And the Japanese yen strengthened from near 101.65 yen per US dollar to JPY101.20 and was near JPY101.25 in late US trade.

World oil prices fell on Tuesday as the interim Iranian nuclear agreement was bolstered by expectations of higher US crude oil inventories. Brent crude eased by US12c to US$110.88 a barrel while US Nymex crude fell by US41c or 0.4pct to US$93.68 a barrel.

Base metal prices were mostly weaker on the London Metal Exchange on Monday with the exception of lead (up 0.3pct). Zinc recorded the biggest decline down 0.8pct while nickel lost 0.7pct. The gold futures price rose on Tuesday with the Comex December futures gold price up by US20c to US$1,241.40 per ounce. The iron ore price fell by US60c to US$135.90 a tonne.

Ahead: In Australia, construction work figures for the September quarter are released. In the US durable goods orders, leading indicators and the University of Michigan confidence index are slated for release.

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