MARKETS

In the US, non-farm payrolls (employment) rose by 214,000 in October, short of forecasts tipping a 231,000 gain. Unemployment fell to a 6-year low of 5.8%. Average earnings rose by 0.1%. The labour force participation rate rose from 62.7% to 62.8%.

The Australian sharemarket has recovered yesterday's losses, with all ten sectors finishing firmer. The All Ordinaries Index (XAO) gained 0.78 per cent or 42 points to 5,522, while the S&P/ASX 200 Index (XJO) climbed 0.78 per cent or 43 points to 5,549. The market was boosted by strong gains in the materials and energy sectors and even the financial sector managed to shrug off early losses to finish the day in positive territory. Over the course of the week the ASX 200 has gained 0.4%, markin...

Local shares started the last session of the week on the front foot following encouraging gains for US and European markets over night. The ASX opened with a small loss, down 6 points before trading with a gain of 33 points at the best levels of the morning. The early optimism reflected gains seen overseas which were driven by the hope of more central bank led action to promote economic growth. The European Central Bank President Mario Draghi said the bank's governing council was unanimous in...

It was a busy night for global markets, as investors digested a raft of releases and events from Europe and the US. In Europe, the BoE and ECB both kept policy unchanged. However, the latter's press conference drew significant attention, as the central bank said it expects its balance sheet to move towards 2012 levels. Essentially, this implies the balance sheet is set to increase by around a trillion euros. At the same time, the ECB reinforced its commitment to using other unconventional pol...

In the US, jobless claim fell by 10,000 to 278,000 last week. The Labour Department also reported that hourly compensation increased at a 2.3 per cent rate in the September quarter. Labour productivity rose at a 0.3 per cent rate in the September quarter after a decline of 0.5 per cent in the June quarter.

The local sharemarket continued its downward slide this afternoon, closing firmly in the red. The All Ordinaries Index (XAO) lost 0.32 per cent or 17pts to 5,475, while the S&P/ASX 200 slipped 0.29 per cent or 16 pts to 5,501. The market was weighed down by falls in the mining and financial sectors. Volumes saw 1.9 billion shares exchanged worth $5.3 billion. 386 stocks ended higher, 571 closed lower and 321 were unchanged.

After several sessions where a weaker tone had prevailed locally, early trade on Thursday saw buyers re-emerge to assert themselves once again in the Australian sharemarket. The improved tone was a reflection of the gains seen in Europe and the US overnight. In Europe the FTSEurofirst 300 index rose by 1.7%, the UK FTSE gained 1.3% and the German Dax lifted by 1.6% as investors showed no anxiety ahead of the European Central Bank meeting on Thursday which is seen as bringing news of fresh stimul...

S&P moved to a record all-time high overnight, as the US midterms delivered their expected outcome.

It looks like the next three Olympic Games would be hosted simultaneously by Asian cities. Beijing is the strongest contender to host the 2022 Winter Games, reports said.

In the US, the ISM services index fell from 58.6 to 57.1 in October, short of estimates near 58.0. The ADP survey of private employment showed that 230,000 jobs were created in October, above estimates near 220,000. And weekly home loan commitments fell 2.6% in the latest week with new purchases up 2.6% while refinancing fell 5.5%.

November is always a dull month in the world of trading. US earnings season has passed, investors start to think about the new year and most macro influences slow down to a trickle.

In the US, durable goods orders fell by 1.1% in September with factory orders down by 0.6%, in line with forecasts. The trade deficit widened from US$40.1 billion to US$43.03 billion in September (forecast US$40 billion). The ISM New York index rose from 654.8 to 657.2 in October. And chain store sales were up 3.9% on a year ago in the latest week, down from 4.4% in the previous week.

The Australian sharemarket has ended the session firmer, after trading fairly flat for most of the day. Volumes were light with Victoria celebrating the Melbourne Cup public holiday. The S&P/ASX 200 climbed 13pts or 0.20 per cent to 5,519.

After a modest setback on Monday, the Australian share market has spent the early part of Melbourne Cup day 2014 moving higher in a restrained fashion. The flat start for the local market was a reasonable result in the face of weaker equity markets in the US and Europe. US investors were encouraged by figures showing the US ISM manufacturing index rose from 56.6 to 59.0 in October, above forecasts for a result near 56.2. European shares fell on Monday with investors disappointed by purchasing ma...

Global markets were mixed, with a predominantly risk off tone driven by a disappointing manufacturing PMI print out of China. Fed member Fisher was also on the wires suggesting he is concerned the Fed will be too late to raise rates and he was not too worried about a slight undershoot in inflation. This, along with slightly better US manufacturing data, contributed to the downward bias in equities. Europe was the hardest hit as peripheral bond yields rose, sending EUR/USD below $1.2500. This saw...

In the US, the ISM manufacturing index rose from 56.6 to 59.0 in October, above forecasts for a result near 56.2. Construction spending fell by 0.4% in September, whereas economists had tipped a 0.7% gain. And the six largest automakers in the US have reported October sales that were up 6% on a year ago.

The Australian sharemarket has ended the session near the day's lows. The All Ordinaries Index (XAO) slipped 20pts or 0.3 per cent to 5,485. Consumer Staples were the worst performing sector dropping 1.94 per cent. Volume 1.68 billion shares traded worth $4.2 billion. 359 stocks finishes firmer, 579 ended lower and 360 closed unchanged.

The Local share market has started the new trading week in a lethargic fashion with buyers and sellers scarcely making an impression one way or the other in early trade on Monday. The lack of commitment from local participants came despite resounding gains in the US at the end of last week. US share markets rose sharply on Friday with the Dow Jones and S&P 500 indexes at record highs as investors drew comfort from the Bank of Japan's move to purchase more assets. The Dow Jones rose by 195 poi...

The BoJ took everyone by surprise on Friday. The shock of a ¥30 trillion increase in the pace of long-term government bonds (JBG's) and major portfolio rebalancing from the Government Pension Investment Fund (GPIF) has added a new dimension to the global currency wars.

An HSBC report confirmed previous speculations that Australia would dislodge Qatar as the world's biggest liquefied natural gas (LNG) exporter in 2018. Its major markets would be mainly Asian nations, particularly China, Japan, Korea, Taiwan and India.

In the US, personal income rose by 0.2% in September with spending down by 0.2%. Both results were slightly weaker than expected. The final reading on consumer sentiment in October was 86.9, up from 84.6 and at a 7-year high.

Lava from Hawaii's Kilauea volcano is already threatening homes in Pahoa.

Australian shares recovered this afternoon to make up for most of the earlier losses. The ASX 200 Index fell by 0.1 per cent following a 0.8 per cent improvement on Monday.

Australian shares are falling for just the second time in 11 days, with the ASX200 down by 0.4 per cent. Despite wiping out more than half of Monday's improvements, local stock are hanging close to one month highs.

US earnings season continues to deliver as expected - estimates have been low. However, 79.8% of those companies that have reported have beaten earnings per share estimates, and 60.5% have beaten revenue estimates.

In the US, pending home sales rose by 0.3% in September after falling by 1% in August. US building permits were revised higher to a lift of 2.8% in September (previously 1.5%). The Markit "flash" service sector PMI slipped from 58.9 to 57.3 in October - the lowestresult since April.

Monday afternoon provided more encouragement for market optimists with the ASX 200 remaining in the vicinity of session highs over the second half of the day. This fact was impressive for the fact that miners moved back into the red as a group following a recovery earlier in the morning.

Global markets are focusing on Europe this morning as results from the ECB's stress tests were finally released. The results were relatively in line with expectations despite announcing an overall gross capital shortfall of €24.6 billion. This equates to around 0.2% of the region's GDP and was spread across 25 banks. Regardless, the main takeaway was the fact some banks have already embarked in some recapitalisation and this has reduced the shortfall to a mere €9.5 billion (from 13 banks...

Australian shares improved for the fourth time this week, taking the gains for the five days to 2.65 per cent. The All Ordinaries Index (XAO) rose by 0.55 per cent today with no sectors missing out on the gains.