Global markets continued to slide as oil slipped further and Greek bond yields spiked. Crude oil inventories released in the US showed a surplus of 1.5 million when the market was expecting a deficit of 2.6 million. This saw WTI slump over 4%, with oil prices trading at their lowest since mid-2009.
The second half of Wednesday's session saw buyers make some pact on the market, taking advantage of prices that were discounted over the course of the morning. The ASX 200 bottomed out late this morning when it was down by 60 points. By the end of trade this deficit had been wound in and the index ended with a loss of 23 points or 0.45%
Wednesday has seen sellers continue to dictate terms for the ASX 200. The market started the session with a gain of 5 points, although positive territory was a fleeting experience and within the first quarter hour the index was down by 40 points. As lunchtime neared the market showed little evidence of consolidation as it continued to make new lows. The weaker tone locally reflected a similar experience in the US and Europe overnight. European shares fell to a two-week low overnight, led down by...
A day after unintentionally elevating macadamia nuts as reason for air rage, a chastised Korean Air executive resigned from her post. Cho Hyun-ah quit her job as vice president responsible for cabin service on Tuesday.
The Australian Dollar has rallied off new lows as the USD and global equity markets weakened overnight.
Global jitters continued to rock sentiment, with Greece at the forefront of the issues. Greek banks were heavily sold off and led declines in European stocks.
In US economic data, wholesale inventories rose by 0.4% in October after an upwardly revised 0.4% gain in September (previously reported as a 0.3% rise). Wholesale sales lifted by 0.2% in October. An ISM industry report on the US manufacturing sector expected revenue to rise by 5.6% in 2015, with capital investment expected to lift by 3.7%.
Australian shares extended their losses this afternoon to finish near today's lows and posting the most significant falls since last Monday. The ASX 200 Index closed 1.7 per cent softer to 5282.7.
Australian shares are wiping out all of yesterday's gains with the ASX 200 Index down by 1 per cent. This should come as no surprise following a 4 per cent slump in the oil price, disappointing economic news in China and Japan on Monday, the worst performance for US shares since October overnight and a credit downgrade for Italy.
More pressure for the Australian Dollar as China, Australia's largest trade partner, showed a surprise fall in imports, pushing the trade surplus to a record USD 54.47 billion and oil prices continued to slide.
Gains from Friday's jobs numbers were short lived as renewed global growth concerns and declining oil prices came back to haunt global markets. Yesterday's disappointing Japan GDP and China trade balance set off the global growth alarm bells once again.
In US economic data, the employment trends index rose from 122.8 to 123.24 in November.
Australian shares kicked off the trading weak substantially firmer with the ASX 200 Index up 0.7 per cent and ending just shy of 5400pts. Local shares managed to rise by 0.4 per cent last week despite a tough start to the week.
Local stocks have started the second week of December on a strong footing. The ASX 200 opened flat, although buyers were waiting in the wings and the market was well supported over the course of the morning. The upward momentum for the market ebbed when the index hit the 5380 but prices remained well supported around these levels into the afternoon.
The Australian Dollar has opened this week around the .8300 level as Friday's US jobs report exceeded forecasts and the USD continued its strength.
The US dollar has been broadly bid higher as investors react to Friday's jobs numbers. The November payrolls reading showed 321,000 jobs were created and average hourly earnings rose 0.4%, while the unemployment rate was steady at 5.8%. This was the highest number of jobs created in nearly three years and was also accompanied by upward revisions to the previous two months. Heading into next week's Fed meeting, this jobs report is only fuelling the case for the hawks.
In US economic data, non-farm payrolls (employment) rose by 321,000 in November, well above forecasts of job gains of 230,000 and the strongest increase in jobs in almost three years. The jobless rate was unchanged at 5.8% and hourly earnings rose by 0.4% in the month, above forecasts for a 0.2% gain. The trade deficit narrowed from a revised US$43.6 billion deficit to US$43.4bn deficit in October.
A flat start for local shares on Friday has given way to broad selling for the ASX 200. At the best levels of the session the AS 200 was ahead by almost 21 points. However at lunchtime the market was around session lows with a loss of 26 points or 0.5%. The was no clear direction offered by US and European markets overnight.
The Australian Dollar made new four year lows last night amid expectations of interest rate cuts early next year.
2015 will remain a year of mass monetary accommodation; what will change is where the money printing and record low rates will come from. The ECB is clearly gearing up for a broad-ranging stimulus package in 2015. ECB President Mario Draghi stated clearly that the Board 'won't tolerate' low inflation and announced that officials had discussed all measures barring gold to support the economy at last night's meeting. It will allot another round to its current corporate bond buying prog...
In economic data, jobless claims fell by 17,000 to 297,000 last week. The 4-week moving average - a better gauge of underlying trends - rose to 299,000, the highest in 10 weeks.
The ASX 200 spent the afternoon consolidating having reached session highs in the latter part of morning trade. Materials and Industrial stocks were the best improved sectors and investors gave the defensive utilities sector a wide berth which saw that group lagging the most.
Early trade on Thursday has seen local shares continue to build on the gains of recent sessions. The ASX 200 opened the day with a gain of 5 points before pushing on to the best levels of the morning when the market was ahead by 52 pts. Investors have been encouraged by the positive tone of US economic news released over night. European shares were generally higher on Wednesday on hopes that the European Central Bank would inject more stimulus into the economy on Thursday. The FTSEurofirst 300 i...
The Australian Dollar is lower after yesterday's weaker-than-expected GDP data from around 0.8460 to 0.8400 and after some intra-session variation overnight, that's about where it sits this morning.
In a slight surprise this week, the PBoC did not use the reverse-repo operation to drain the excess liquidity in the market. Most had forecast this would take place considering the fiscal policy changes currently underway. To my eye, this signals intent that 2015 will be a growth supporting year; interest rate cuts, reserve requirement ratios and further disbursements will be a theme from China in 2015.
In US economic data, the ISM services index rose from 57.1 to 59.3 in November, above forecasts for a result near 57.5. The ADP survey showed that 208,000 jobs were created in November, just short of expectations for 221,000 job growth. The mortgage market index fell by 7.3% in the latest week, dragged down by a fall in refinancing.
Australian shares maintained most of their gains with the ASX 200 Index rising by 0.8 per cent; trading above 5300pts and adding to yesterday's 1.4 per cent surge. Energy and mining sectors improved by between 0.7 per cent and 1.2 per cent despite a slump in oil, gold and iron ore prices.
Local shares saw a mixed start to trade on Wednesday after the strong gains of the previous session. The ASX 200 opened with a loss of 20 points, however those levels found buying support and over the ensuing hours the market was able to fight its way back into positive territory. At the best levels of the morning the index was up by 50 points and as lunchtime loomed every ASX sector was in positive territory.
The Australian Dollar has slipped back below USD 0.8500, being driven by a strengthening US Dollar, concerns over Australia's economy and uncertainty about the Reserve Bank's next move.
2015 is gearing up to be the stress test of the Australian economy for the millennium.
