MARKETS

In the US, housing starts fell by 2.8% to a 1.009 million annual rate in October. Analysts had tipped a result near 1.025m. But building permits were stronger than expected, up 4.8%. The mortgage market index rose by 5.2% in the latest week. And there were net capital outflows totalling US$55.6m in September.

The ASX 200 continued to lose ground over the course of the afternoon. While the market finished around session lows, the more discouraging aspect of the session was the index breaking down through the 5400 level. In the last day the market had shown some signs of support around this key support level, although today's close indicated that the sellers had won out. The more important measure will be whether the index closes above 5400 on a weekly closing basis.

In the last two and a half weeks there have been only 3 occasion on which the ASX 200 has risen. The weaker trend was once again in force at the open of trade on Wednesday. While the early losses for the ASX 200 were contained; the index was down 18 points at the low of the session; it appeared clear that sellers were still keen to test the index in terms of support around the 5400 mark. Whether the market holds above this level will be one of the key matters to resolve over the remainder of the...

The final market altering event of 2014 is now underway. I've been keenly watching political and fiscal events that have transpired in Japan over the past month. Last night they reached a pinnacle at Prime Minster Abe's press conference.

In the US, producer prices rose by 0.2% in October to be up 1.5% over the year. Core prices (ex food & energy) rose by 0.4% to be up 1.8% on a year ago. The NAHB housing market index improved from 54 to 58 in November.

Local shares have been dipping in and out of positive territory so far today with investors remaining indecisive. The ASX200 Index is unchanged and has been approaching the 5400pt mark; a level not breached since late October.

That general feeling of unease only intensified with the release of Japan's third quarter GDP figures yesterday.

In the US, industrial production fell by 0.1% in October, short of forecasts tipping a 0.2% gain. The New York Fed manufacturing index rose from +6.17 to +10.16 in November.

Australian shares finished in the red for the fifth time in six days with the ASX200 Index slipping by 0.8 per cent. The local market slumped by 1.7 per cent last week and US equities finished mixed on Friday.

X-rays revealed a DHL box labelled as toys actually contained chopped body parts of an infant such as the head, foot and heart. The staff of the global courier company discovered on Saturday the grisly contents as they prepared to ship the box from Bangkok to three Nevada addresses, The Age reports.

There is a general feeling I get from commentary, investors and the market itself that we all want 2014 to finish now, locking in the gains we've seen this year.

The open of trade on Monday saw the ASX 200 go the way it has done for most sessions in recent weeks, down. The low point of the morning saw the index at a deficit of 34 points, although there was no sign buyers were keen to start a new week by taking advantage of lower prices. The weaker bias was informed by the unconvincing outcomes for US and European equity markets at the weekend. US share markets finished mixed on Friday. The Dow Jones was down by 18 points or 0.1% but the S&P 500 index was...

Gina Rinehart is Australia's richest person with an estimated wealth of $22 billion. She would likely hold on to that title for a long time not only because she has rightly invested in coal and iron ore which are still the country's top export earners despite the low price of the two commodity in the international market.

Australian shares are managing to creep into positive territory after a weaker start for the fifth day. The ASX 200 Index (a measure of market performance) is up ~0.1 per cent. A close to 4 per cent slump in the oil price is holding back energy stocks most.

The lull in equities continued, with no major catalysts to keep the rally going. There was some downside pressure as oil prices continue to deteriorate and investors digest the prospect of an early rates lift-off. Fed member Dudley was on the wires reaffirming that policy will be tailored to market conditions, essentially confirming that policy is data-dependent.

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.

Australian shares closed in the red for the fourth day with the ASX 200 slipping by 0.4 per cent. An improvement from the miners after a 3 per cent slump in just two sessions helped limit the losses.

Australian shares are sliding for the fourth day taking the losses this week to 1.8 per cent. The ASX 200 index is down 0.4 per cent and is trading below the 5450 mark. It has been a rocky ride for markets in recent months however with local shares surging by 6 per cent over the past month.

Equities continued to consolidate with a mild risk-off tone in a fairly quiet session on the economic calendar. The highlight was perhaps comments by Fed member Charles Plosser who reiterated the Fed should begin raising rates soon in order to avoid being far behind the curve. While Mr Plosser is traditionally a hawk, I think the market is gradually moving in that direction and this perhaps weighed on equities. On the other side of the spectrum, Kocherlakota maintained his dovish stance and said...

There are a number of anecdotes as well as jokes on airline meals. Australian flag carrier Qantas hopes to dispel some of those with its offer of Wagyu beef and 50 percent bigger portions on economy seats.

Iron ore prices has fallen to a five-year low of $76 per tonne in the international market. But it isn't the worst case scenario because a Citibank study forecasts the price of this key steelmaking-ingredient could still drop to less than $60 in 2015.

In the US, whole sale inventories rose by 0.3% in September after a 0.6% gain in August - a result that should support the September quarter GDP result.

Australian shares continued to lose ground over the course of the afternoon on Wednesday. Buying support was scarce in the second half of the session which was reflected in the final result, which saw the ASX 200 end at session lows. At the close of trade the ASX 200 was almost 1% lower or 54 points.

Australian shares are falling for the third day with buyers remaining uninspired to enter the market. The ASX 200 index is down 0.6 per cent and is trading below the 5500 pt mark for the first time since last Thursday.

The quiet November trade period continues to leave the market to its own devices. The US markets opened and closed largely unchanged to see the DOW and the S&P just resting against the record prints fromMonday.

In the US, the NFIB business optimism index rose from 95.3 to 96.1 in October. And chain store sales were up 3.8% in the latest week compared with a year earlier according to Redbook, down from 3.9% in the previous week.

Australian shares ended in the red for the second day with the ASX 200 slipping by 0.1 per cent. Despite losses of 0.5 per cent so far this week the ASX 200 still remains above the key 5500 pt level.

Local shares started the second session of the week much like the first, in reverse. The path of the ASX 200 to the session lows was orderly and took the first hour at which point the market was down by 16 points. As lunch approached there appeared to be little evidence that buyers were keen to make any impression and the index loitered within sight of the worst levels of the morning. The lead offered by US share markets didn't translate to sentiment at the open locally. The Dow Jones and the...

There is little in the way of macro news at the moment and this is allowing the markets to run; the US markets, in particular, are gunning for any reason to head higher.