The evil spell that was cast on the sharemarket over the past week and half has been lifted for the time being, with the ASX 200 index (XJO) rising 0.3 pct or 12.5 pts to 4562.1 while the broader All Ordinaries index (XAO) jumped 0.3 pct or 13.2 pts to 4634.9.

Almost all sectors ended higher today. By Wednesday this week we had endured the biggest losing streak in 12 months for the Australian sharemarket after stocks fell for 6 consecutive days. Thankfully, shares ended higher yesterday and today which resulted in only a modest 0.6 pct pullback over the past 5 days.

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The volume and value of shares traded today remained light ahead of the long weekend in NSW however.

One of Australia's largest uranium producers, Paladin Energy (PDN) rose 2.95 pct or 8 cents to $2.79 today after announcing to the market that it is not considering raising additional capital. In PDN's official statement to the market it clarified that its expansion is going to plan, its debt is in good standing, the company is not planning to raise capital and that Australia's largest gold producer, Newcrest Mining (NCM) is planning on retaining its stake in the uranium company. PDN has a market capitalisation of $2.1 billion.

The S&P/ASX 200 Financials index managed to end higher by only 0.06 pct or 2.5 pts to 4217.0 today. Westpac (WBC) rose 0.28 pct or 6 cents to $21.85 and ANZ Banking Group (ANZ) gained 0.14 pct or 3 cents to $21.53. National Australia Bank (NAB) fell 0.45 pct or 11 cents to $24.17 and the country's largest lender Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) ended 1 cent lower.

The S&P/ASX 200 Materials index jumped 0.47 pct or 62.6 pts to 13298.0. Australia's largest miner BHP Billiton (BHP) gained 0.47 pct or 20 cents to $43.15 and the smaller RIO Tinto (RIO) gained 0.51 pct or 41 cents to $80.20.

The retailers had a great day, with department store owner, Myer (MYR) rising 2.93 pct or 8 cents to $2.81 while its competitor David Jones (DJS) gained 1.99 pct or 8 cents to $4.10.

As usual, there was a lack of economic data released on Friday in Australia; however the Department of the Treasury released the draft Bill for the Mineral Resource Rent Tax (MRRT) today.

The Australian Government is expected to apply the amendments to mining taxation from July 2012. A MRRT will apply to the mining of iron ore and coal in Australia. Smaller miners with MRRT assessable earnings of under $50 million a year will be excluded from the tax. The tax rate will be 30 pct. The MRRT will also provide a credit for state royalties paid in respect of a mining project.

According to the Treasury, "The community, through the Australian and State governments, own the rights to these resources and we have a responsibility to future generations to charge appropriately for using them. The new resource taxation framework will enable the nation to make the most of the resources boom, invest in infrastructure and jobs and give all Australians a lasting stake in our prosperity."
In Asia today, Japan's Nikkei 225 index was the best in the region after gaining 0.5 pct or 47.29 pts to 9514.44. South Korea's KOSPI index was down 1.19 pct or 24.75 pts to 2046.67, China's Shanghai Composite index dropped 0.23 pct or 6.18 pts to 2697.16 and Hong Kong's Hang Seng dropped 0.83 pct or 188.48 pts to 22421.35.

China's trade balance was out today for the month of May. This measures the difference between imported and exported goods. Despite posting a healthy surplus of around US$13 billion, it still missed expectations of an approximate US$19.5 billion.

Economic data out of Japan was lower than expectations today, with both the Corporate Goods Price Index (CGPI) and a report measuring the change in the total value of services purchased by business ending a little under forecasts.

South Korea's central bank decided to increase its interest rates for the first time in 4 months by 25 bps to 3.25 pct. In its monthly statement, The Bank of Korea said that it "...considers the recoveries in major advanced economies to have exhibited signs of being somewhat delayed, while emerging market economies continue to show favorable performances. Going forward, the Committee forecasts that the global economy will keep up its pace of recovery; nevertheless, the Committee recognizes the possibility of such factors as the sovereign debt concerns in some euro area countries, the political unrest in North Africa and the Middle East, and the impacts of the Great East Japan Earthquake posing downside risks to the global economy".

It is gearing up to be a busy night of economic releases in Europe tonight. The European Central Bank's (ECB) President, Jean-Claude Trichet is scheduled to speak at the Centre for Financial Studies, in Frankfurt.

Mr Trichet has been the head of the ECB for 8 years. Back in 1993 he was the head of France's central bank, La Banque de France. The typical term length for the President of the ECB is 5 years however it can be renewed once.

Germany is releasing its latest consumer inflation numbers which the market is expecting has remained unchanged in May. Germany, Europe's largest economy will also be publishing its latest Wholesale Price Index (WPI), which measures the change in the price of goods sold by wholesalers across the country.

Out of the U.K tonight, National Statistics (Britain's equivalent to Australia's Bureau of Statistics) is releasing its latest manufacturing production reading, which measures the change in production activity in the manufacturing industry. The market is expecting a flat result.

The U.S sharemarket also gained for the first time this week overnight with the Dow Jones index rising 0.6 pct.

Shares so far this week in the U.S have only eased by 0.2 pct.

The Dow Jones index is an index made up of North America's largest companies including names such as McDonald's, Hewlett-Packard, Coca-Cola, Bank of America, Johnson & Johnson, Walt Disney and Wal-Mart.

In the U.S last night, North America's Bureau of Economic Analysis announced the latest trade balance figures for April. Despite the world's largest economy recording yet another trade deficit (the difference between imports and exports), the figures were a little better than expected. Market expectations were for a deficit of US$48.6 billion, whereas the actual result was US$43.7 billion. Exports rose by US$2.2 billion in April while the value of imports fell by US$1 billion over the month.
The Department of Labor published its latest weekly statistics on unemployment claims on Thursday night. This measures the number of Americans who filed for unemployment benefits for the first time last week. The market was expecting an additional 424,000 people to have applied to receive jobless benefits last week.

The actual figure was worse than expected with 427,000 Americans requesting jobless benefit for the first time last week.

Looking ahead to tonight, the U.S Department of Treasury will be releasing its latest budget balance tonight. This basically shows the difference between how much the U.S federal government is spending and its revenue. Some find this monthly document to be quite fascinating because it shows the breakup of how much the U.S government spends on each area of the economy and where it is receiving most of its income.

In the previous report (April 2011), it was stated that $155 billion was raised from individual income taxes from Americans over the month, while only $25 billion came from company taxes during the month. More than 50 pct of America's monthly income comes from the taxes of everyday Americans.

In relation to the government's expenses, there are 3 areas which make up over 60 pct of the world's largest economy's spending. This includes the healthcare sector, the department of defence and spending on social security. Over US$87 billion was spent on healthcare alone in April, US$69 billion was spent on social security and a staggering US$57 billion was allocated to the defence sector. More is spent on defence in the U.S than the top 20 countries spend on defence and military combined.

In the past U.S financial year, close to US$140 billion was spent on the Department of the Army, almost US$100 billion on the navy, and around US$91 billion on the air force.

Tonight, Statistics Canada will be announcing its most recent employment data at around 9.30pm (AEST). Market consensus is for just over 21,000 jobs to have been created in May and for Canada's unemployment rate to remain steady at 7.6 pct. Statistics Canada is the equivalent of the Australian Bureau of Statistics. Canada's unemployment rate has improved from 8.2 pct to 7.6 pct over the past 12 months.
The volume of shares traded came in at 1.96 billion today, worth $4.13 billion. 555 shares were up, 501 finished weaker and 419 ended unchanged.

At 4.30pm AEST on the Sydney Futures Exchange, the ASX24 futures contract is up 0.51 pct or 23 pts to 4577.

Most major European markets trade between 5pm (AEST) and 1.30am (AEST). Futures in Europe are pointing to a weaker start to trade tonight.

Dow Jones futures are higher, indicating that U.S shares will start stronger when American markets open at 11.30pm (AEST).

Turning to currencies, the Australian dollar is weaker and buys US106 cents, JPY84.92 and EUR73.2 cents.

The best performing stock on the market today was Convergent Minerals (CVG) which rose 40 pct or 2 cents to 7 cents. CVG first listed in 2006 with a float price of 11 cents. CVG is a resource company focused on gold exploration in Western Australia.

The Australian sharemarket is closed today, Monday for the Queen's birthday celebrations.

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