MORNING REPORT
(6am AEDT)

US new home sales eased from a 318,000 annual rate in January to 313,000 in February, below expectations for a result near 325,000. But the weekly Economic Cycle Research Institute index rose from 125.1 to 125.7.

European shares recorded small gains on Friday. But key indices ended the week sharply lower after the release of soft indicators in both China and Europe. The benchmark FTSEurofirst 300 index rose by 0.1pct with the German Dax and UK FTSE both up 0.2pct. But resources stocks did well in response to higher commodity prices and a surge in profits by Chile´s Codelco - the world´s largest copper exporter. Rio Tinto rose 1.5pct in London trade and BHP Billiton rose 0.9pct. Over the week, the FTSEurofirst 300 index fell by 2.6pct after gaining 2.5pct in the previous week.

US sharemarkets posted modest gains on Friday as investors shopped for bargains after a down week. Economic data was uninspiring and the main corporate news was the jump in profits by Chile´s Codelco which drove resources stocks higher. At the close, the Dow Jones was up by 34pts or 0.3pct with the S&P 500 up by 0.3pct and the Nasdaq gained 4.6pts or 0.2pct. After gains of 2.2-2.4pct the previous week, the Dow Jones lost 1.2pct over the week while the S&P 500 lost 0.5pct with the Nasdaq eased by 0.4pct.

US longer-term treasuries rose again on Friday (yields lower) as investors continue to search for bargains after the sharp fall in prices over the previous week. US 2yr yields fell by 2pts to 0.356pct and US 10yr yields fell by 5pts to 2.233pct. Over the week US 2yr yields were little changed with US 10yr yields down by 6pts after rising by 27pts over the previous week.

The US dollar lost ground against major currencies on Friday. The Euro rose from lows around US$1.3190 to US$1.3290, and was near US$1.3265 in late US trade. The Aussie dollar rose from lows around US103.70c to US104.80c and was near US104.60c in late US trade. And the Japanese yen lifted from 82.90 yen per US dollar to JPY82.00 and was near JPY82.30 in late US trade.

Benchmark crude oil prices rose sharply on Friday in response to news that Iranian oil exports have slumped in response to sanctions by Western nations. Industry consultant Petrologistics said Iran´s crude exports have fallen by 14pct in March. The US Nymex rose by US$1.52 or 1.4pct to US$106.87 a barrel while London Brent crude rose by US$1.99 to US$125.13 a barrel. Nymex fell by 19c over the week while Brent lost 97c or 0.8pct.

Base metal prices rose on Friday as bargain hunters moved in after the sharp falls in metal prices over the week. Metals rose between 0.5-1.0pct but nickel lost 1.5pct. Over the week metals fell up to 4.8pct although copper lost only 1.4pct. The gold price rose on Friday, driven by a higher oil price and bargain hunting, posting its biggest one day gain for a month. The April Comex gold price was up by US$19.90 or 1.2pct to US$1,662.40 an ounce. Over the week gold rose by 0.3pct.

Ahead: In Australia, no major economic data is scheduled. In the US, data on pending home sales, the national activity index and Dallas Fed manufacturing index are released.