US mortgage applications rose sharply last week, lifting 13.0pct in response to strong refinancing demand. The refinancing index soared by 17.1pct to 15-month highs although the purchase index actually fell by 3.4pct.

General Motors has filed for an initial public offering and plans to list shares on both the New York and Toronto stock exchanges. Trading in shares is expected to start between late October and late November. GMs filing did not specify the number of shares to be issued or the expected price range.

European shares fell on Wednesday with weakness in oil stocks weighing on indices. Shares of BHP-Billiton fell 3.4pct in London after formally launching a hostile bid for Potash Corp. The FTSEurofirst index fell by 0.4pct with the UK FTSE down 0.9pct and the German Dax eased by 0.3pct.

US sharemarkets rose for a second straight day on Wednesday. Shares in Target rose by 2.5pct after saying that same store sales in the third quarter will rise by 1-3pct. And shares in US Steel rose 4.8pct on takeover rumours. The Dow Jones finished higher by almost 10pts or 0.1pct with the S&P 500 up 0.2pct and the Nasdaq was higher by 6pts or 0.3pct.

US treasuries ended little-changed in thin trade on Wednesday with no major economic data to provide direction. While some analysts believe that a ´´bubble´´ has developed in the bond market, investors showed no inclination to act on those views. US 2yr yields fell by 1pt to 0.50pct and US 10yr yields were flat at 2.64pct.

Major currencies were mixed against the US dollar in US and European trade on Wednesday. The Euro rose from US$1.2825 to US$1.2920, ending US trade near US$1.2845. The Aussie dollar fell from highs near US90.45c to US89.75c, ending US trade near its lows. And the Japanese yen traded from 85.15 yen per US dollar to JPY85.50, ending US trade near JPY85.45.

US crude oil prices fell on Wednesday in response to higher-than-expected inventory levels. Combined US crude and refined product stocks rose to the highest level since weekly data began 20 years ago. The Nymex crude oil contract fell by US35c or 0.5pct to US$75.42. US London Brent crude fell by US46c to US$76.47 a barrel.

Base metal prices were mixed on the London Metal Exchange on Wednesday in the absence of market-moving economic data. Zinc rose 0.6pct and copper edged 0.1pct higher but aluminium fell 1.3pct with other metals down 0.2-0.3pct. And the Comex gold price hit 6-week highs on physical demand and technical buying. Gold rose by US$3.10 an ounce to US$1,231.40.

Ahead: In Australia, average weekly earnings data is released. David Jones issues sales figures, AMP, ASX, QBE, Brambles and Wesfarmers are amongst those issuing profit results. In the US the leading index, weekly jobless claims and Philadelphia Fed index are released.