US initial jobless claims fell by 6,000 to a seasonally adjusted 388,000 last week. Those people remaining on claims after drawing an initial week of aid fell to the lowest level since late 2008. The ISM Chicago manufacturing index eased from 71.2 to 70.6 in February. The employment sub-index rose to its highest level in 28 years. US factory orders fell 0.1pct to $446 billion in February.

European shares fell on Thursday as renewed fears over Portugal´s debt crisis prompted investors to lock in recent gains. Portugal revealed that its budget deficit had ballooned to 8.7pct of GDP - well above the 7.3pct that the government had been targeting. After the close, Ireland said its four remaining banks require another €24 billion to enable them to with stand potential losses. A restructure would see the four banks become two. The FTSEurofirst index fell 0.9pct, the German Dax eased 0.3pct and the UK FTSE fell 0.7pct.

US sharemarkets were mixed on Thursday. Volumes were light as traders waited on the Friday´s payrolls data. Retail stocks ranked amongst the worst performers, with the S&P Retail Index down 0.7pct. The Dow Jones index fell 31pts or 0.3pct with the S&P 500 lower by 0.2pct and the Nasdaq gained 4pts or 0.2pct. For the quarter the Dow gained 6.4pct, the S&P 500 rose 5.4pct and the Nasdaq was up 4.8pct.

US treasuries ended higher (yields lower) on Thursday as traders awaited on the payrolls data released tonight. US 2yr yields gained 3pts to 0.79pct and US 10yr yields gained 3pts to 3.47pct.

The Euro rallied against the greenback boosted by the strong inflation print. Eurostat estimated that consumer prices in the euro-zone jumped by a larger than expected 2.6pct in March. The Euro rose from lows near US$1.4135 to highs around US$1.4230 and closed US trade near US$1.4170. The Aussie dollar rose from early lows near US103.20c to US103.70c, ending US trade near US103.45c. And the Japanese yen traded in a tight range between 82.60 yen per US dollar to JPY83.25, ending US trade near JPY83.20.

US crude oil prices rallied in end-of-quarter trading on Thursday. Libya´s ongoing conflict kept threats to supply in play. The Nymex crude oil contract rose by US$2.45 or 2.3pct to US$106.72 a barrel. And the London Brent crude rose US$2.23 to US$117.36 a barrel. For the quarter Nymex crude rose 16.8pct while London Brent gained 23.9pct.

Base metal prices were higher on the London Metal Exchange, as the weaker US dollar supported demand into the commodity complex. Lead rose 1.8pct while Zinc gained 1.1pct. And the gold price gained ground with the Comex gold futures price up US$15.00 or 1.1pct to US$1439.90.

Ahead: In Australia, the PMI survey is released. In the US, non-farm payrolls, construction spending, vehicles sales, and the ISM manufacturing survey is released.

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