The stock board at the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) is seen in central Sydney November 6, 2008. Australian shares fell 3.8 percent on Thursday, driven down by miners such as BHP Billiton Ltd, after U.S. economic data stoked fears of a prolonged sl
The stock board at the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) is seen in central Sydney November 6, 2008. Reuters/Daniel Munoz
  • The European Central Bank has announced that its 60 billion euros per month asset purchase programme will continue until September 2016 or until its inflation rate hits its target levels.
  • In US economic data, the Philadelphia Federal Reserve business index eased from +15.2 to +5.7 in July. New claims for unemployment insurance eased by 15,000 to 281,000 in the latest week, below forecasts for a result near 285,000. The NAHB housing market index rose from +59 to +60 in July.
  • European shares rose again on Thursday after the Greek Parliament voted in favour of the bailout deal. The FTSEurofirst 300 rose by 1.4% with the German Dax up by 1.5% while the UK FTSE was up by 0.6%. In London trade mining shares were higher with BHP Billiton up by 1.6% with Rio Tinto up by 1.0%.
  • US sharemarkets posted firm gains on Thursday. Investors were encouraged that the Greek Parliament voted in favour of the bailout package. Also shares in Citigroup, eBay and Netflix rose after releasing quarterly results. The Dow Jones ended higher by 70 points or 0.4% after being up 81 points in early trade. The S&P 500 rose by 0.8% while the Nasdaq gained 64 points or 1.3%.
  • US treasury prices were mixed on Thursday in response to mixed economic data. And the Federal Reserve chair, Janet Yellen, highlighted the risks of raising rates too soon in latest testimony to Congress. US 2 year yields were up by 2 points to 0.66% while US 10 year yields were down by 1 point to 2.35%.
  • Major currencies were mixed against the greenback in European and US trade. The euro fell from highs near US$1.0940 to lows near US$1.0860 and ended US trade around US$1.0870. The Aussie dollar rose from lows near US73.55c to highs around US74.35c and ended US trade near US74.00c. And the Japanese yen eased from near 123.77 yen per US dollar to JPY124.17, ending US trade around JPY124.10.
  • World oil prices were mixed on Thursday. Brent crude rose after Britain's Buzzard oilfield was closed after a power outage shut production. Nymex crude fell after traders said that stocks at the Cushing, Oklahoma, delivery point for the US crude contract have risen nearly 1 million barrels since last Friday. Brent crude rose by US46 cents or 0.8% to US$57.51 a barrel while US Nymex crude fell by US50 cents or 1.0% to US$50.91 a barrel.
  • Base metal prices were mixed again on Thursday on the London Metal Exchange. Copper, nickel and tin rose up to 3.3% with other metals lower by up to 1.7%. The Comex gold futures price fell by US$3.50 or 0.3% to US$1,143.90 per ounce. Iron ore fell by US10c or 0.2% to US$50.00 a tonne on Thursday.

Ahead: In Australia, no major economic data is scheduled. In the US, the consumer price index and housing starts data are released with the consumer sentiment survey.

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