Australian Stock Market Report – Morning November 14, 2014

* In the US, new claims for unemployment insurance (jobless claims) rose by 12,000 to 290,000 in the latest week. The Job Opening and Labour Turnover (JOLTS) figures shows job openings fell from a 6-year high of 4.853 million in August to 4.725 million in September, below forecasts centred on 4.823m.

* In China, retail sales in October were up 11.5% on a year ago while sales in the month rose by 0.98% - the fastest growth in 5 months. Production in October was up 7.7% over the year.

* European shares rose on Thursday despite weakness in energy companies and oil services companies in response to a lower oil price. The FTSEurofirst 300 index rose by 0.2% with the UK FTSE and German Dax both up by 0.4%. In London trade shares in BHP Billiton were unchanged while Rio Tinto gained 0.8%.

* US sharemarkets finished higher on Thursday. The lower oil price continued to put downward pressure on energy companies but buoyed shares of airlines and retailers. Shares in United Parcel Services fell by just 0.2% despite modest revenue growth guidance. Shares in Wal-Mart rose by 4.7% after the retailer reported a 2.9% increase in third quarter revenue. At the close of trade, the Dow Jones was up by almost 41 points or 0.2% after holding in a 122 point range. The S&P 500 index was up by 0.1% and the Nasdaq was up by 5 points or 0.1%.

* US treasuries rose modestly on Thursday (yields lower). US Treasury sold $16 billion in 30-year Treasury bonds, the last leg of the $66 billion in new bond supply issued this week. US 2 year yields fell by 2 points to 0.52% while US 10 year yields fell by 2 points to 2.35%.

* Major currencies were mixed against the US dollar in European and US trade on Thursday. The Euro rose from lows near US$1.2435 to highs near US$1.2490, and was around US$1.2475 in late US trade. The Aussie dollar rose from lows near US86.90c to around US87.60c, and was back around US87.15c in late US trade. The Japanese yen held between 115.34 yen per US dollar and JPY115.85 but was near JPY115.77 in late US trade.

* World oil prices fell again on Thursday as traders continued to speculate on a cutback of oil production quotas when OPEC members meet on November 27. Saudi Arabia has remained quiet about backing a production cut. US crude stocks fell more than expected last week as refineries boosted output. Brent crude fell by US$2.46 or 3.1% to a 4-year low of US$77.92 a barrel while the US Nymex crude price fell by US$2.97 or 3.8% to US$75.16 a barrel.

* Base metal prices fell by up to 1.4% on the London Metal Exchange on Thursday with zinc, tin and nickel leading the declines. Gold rose modestly on Thursday with Comex gold futures up by US$2.40 an ounce or 0.2% to US$1,161.50 per ounce. Iron ore rose by US10c to US$75.50 a tonne on Thursday.

Ahead: In Australia no major economic data is released, In the US, retail sales data is released.

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