Finance ministers and central bank officials from G20 countries said that they would take all actions to address problems in the global financial system: ´´We commit to take all necessary actions to preserve the stability of banking systems and financial markets as required.´´

European shares rose in late trade on Friday on hopes that the European Central Bank will provide further measures to address the region´s debt crisis. French banks lifted on speculation of a capital injection from the government with BNP Paribas up 9.8pct and Societe Generale up 8.8pct. The FTSEurofirst index rose by 0.8pct while the German Dax lifted by 0.6pct and the UK FTSE gained 0.5pct. Over the week the FTSEurofirst index lost 6.1pct.

US sharemarkets rose on Friday in choppy trade. Shares in Morgan Stanley rose by 5.1pct with Citigroup up 4.3pct and Bank of America lifted 4.1pct. The Dow Jones rose by almost 38pts or 0.4pct with the S&P 500 higher by 0.6pct while the Nasdaq gained just over 27pts or 1.1pct. After rising 4.7pct the previous week, the Dow lost 6.4pct last week. The S&P 500 fell by 6.5pct after gaining 5.4pct the previous week and the Nasdaq fell by 5.3pct after lifting 6.3pct the previous week.

US treasuries fell on Friday (yields higher) as investors booked profits and equities stabilised. US 2yr yields rose by 2pts to 0.22pct and US 10yr yields rose by 11pts to 1.83pct. Over the week US 2yr yields were up 5.7pts while US 10yr yields fell by 21pts.

Major currencies were mixed on Friday in the absence of new economic information to provide direction. The Euro fell from near US$1.3560 to US$1.3420 in European trade before rebounding and ending the US session near US$1.3500. The Euro has lifted to US$1.3550 this morning. The Aussie dollar also fell from highs around US98.60c to US96.70c, before recovering to end US trade near US97.80c. The Aussie has spiked higher to US98.50c this morning. And the Japanese yen eased from 76.15 yen per US dollar to JPY76.85 and ended US trade at JPY76.55.

Global crude oil prices fell on Friday as investors factored in the risk of slower world economic growth. Nymex crude oil fell by US66c or 0.8pct to US$79.85 a barrel and London Brent crude fell by US$1.52 to US$103.97 a barrel. Over the week Nymex oil fell $8.11 or 9.2pct and Brent lost $8.25 or 7.4pct.

Base metal prices slid up to 6.6pct on the London Metal Exchange on Friday, but tin was the exception, up 2.1pct. Lead was the worst performer with zinc down 5pct. But aluminium rose 0.3pct. Over the week metal prices slumped between 7.4-17.1pct. Lead was the worst performer with nickel down 15pct while aluminium lost 7.4pct. The gold price fell in line with other commodities as investors booked profits. The Comex December gold price was lower by US$101.90 an ounce or 5.9pct to US$1,639.80. It was the lowest closing price since early August. Gold fell by US$174.90 or 9.6pct over the week - the biggest fall in 28 years.

Ahead: In Australia, no major economic data is scheduled. In the US, new home sales data is released together with the Chicago national activity index and Dallas Fed survey.