Australian Stock Market Report
Chinese industrial production rose by 13.9pct in the year to August, above forecasts near 13pct. Consumer prices rose 3.5pct over the year, matching forecasts. Retail sales rose by 18.4pct over the year, producer prices rose slowed from 4.8pct to 4.3pct and urban fixed investment rose 24.8pct in the first 8 months of the year.
Global regulators have reached a deal on Basel III which will lead to tighter capital requirements on the world´s banks.
European shares ended mixed on Friday, weighed down by Deutsche Bank´s plans to raise capital. The FTSEurofirst index fell by 0.1pct with the UK FTSE up by 0.1pct and the German Dax was lower by 0.1pct.
US sharemarkets rose on Friday in light trade with energy and health care leading the way. The Dow Jones rose by 47.5pts or 0.5pct with the S&P 500 up 0.5pct and the Nasdaq lifted by 6pts or 0.3pct. Over the week the Dow Jones gained 0.1pct with the S&P 500 up 0.5pct and the Nasdaq was higher by 0.4pct.
US treasuries fell for a third straight day on Friday (yields higher) as investors steered away from safe-haven assets and the market continued to struggle to digest the US$67bn in bond issuance over the week. US 2yr yields rose by 1pt to 0.58pct and US 10yr yields rose by 4pts to near 2.80pct. Over the week US 2yr yields rose by 6pts and US 10yr yields rose by 10pts.
The Euro and Japanese yen range-traded in European and US trade on Friday but the Aussie dollar finished near its highs. But the Euro and Aussie have soared today after the Chinese economic data. The Euro traded between US$1.2670 to US$1.2740, ending US trade near US$1.2710. The Euro has lifted to US$1.2725 this morning. The Aussie dollar lifted from lows near US92.20c to finish near its highs of US92.65c. The Aussie has lifted to US93.05c this morning. And the Japanese yen held between 83.75 yen per US dollar and JPY84.35, ending US trade near JPY84.15 and easing to JPY84.35 this morning.
US crude oil prices rose the most in five weeks on Friday in response to supply concerns. Enbridge has closed its 670,000 barrel per day Line 6A that supplies oil from Canada to the US after a leak was discovered. The Nymex crude oil contract rose by US$2.20 or 2.7pct to US$76.45. London Brent crude rose by US69c to US$78.16 a barrel. Over the week Nymex oil rose by 2.5pct.
Base metal prices fell on the London Metal Exchange on Friday as investors squared positions in the absence of market-moving news. Metals fell between 0.3-2.0pct. Over the week base metal prices were mixed. Nickel soared 4.4pct and lead rose 0.6pct but other metals lost around 2pct. And the Comex gold price fell by US$4.40 an ounce to US$1,246.50 as investors booked profits after gold touched record highs over the week. Gold fell for the first week in six, down by 0.4pct.
Ahead: In Australia, lending finance and credit card statistics are released. In the US the monthly treasury budget is released.