MORNING REPORT
(7am AEDT)

The US economy grew at a 2.5pct annual rate in the September quarter, in line with expectations, and up from the 1.3pct annual rate in the June quarter. Pending home sales fell 4.6pct in September, well below market forecasts. And new US claims for unemployment insurance fell by 2,000 to 402,000 in the latest week. Continued claims fell to fresh 3-year lows.

European shares soared to 12-week highs as optimism on the Euro summit agreement drove investors to embrace bank stocks. The STOXX Europe Banking index rose by 8.9pct with French banks up between 17-22 per cent. Miners also made hefty gains with Rio Tinto shares up 8pct in London trade and BHP Billiton up 7.1pct. The FTSEurofirst index rose by 3.7pct with the French CAC up 6.3pct, the German Dax was higher by 5.4pct while the UK FTSE gained 2.9pct.

US sharemarkets also soared on Thursday as investors enthusiastically embraced the Euro summit agreement. Financial stocks posted the strongest gains with the KBW Bank index up 6.3pct. Shares in Citigroup rose by 10pct with JP Morgan Chase up 8.5pct. Shares in Dow Chemical rose 7.8pct despite its profit missing expectations. Of 262 companies in the S&P 500 that have reported quarterly earnings, 72pct have topped Wall Street expectations. The Dow Jones closed higher by 339pts or 2.9pct after being up 415pts. The S&P 500 was up by 3.4pct and the Nasdaq gained 88pts or 3.3pct.

US longer-term treasuries fell sharply on Thursday (yields higher) as investors embraced the agreement hammered out by European leaders. US 2yr yields rose by 2pts to 0.313pct and US 10yr yields lifted by 16pts to 2.375pct.

Major currencies made solid gains against the greenback through US and European sessions . The Euro rose from lows near US$1.3980 in European trade to US$1.4245 and ended US trade near US$1.4190. The Aussie dollar rose from lows around US104.90c to US107.50c, and ended US trade at US107.10c. And the Japanese yen eased from 76.05 yen to JPY75.65, ending US trade near JPY75.90.

Crude oil prices soared on Thursday on hopes that the solution to the Euro debt crisis would support confidence and therefore global economic growth. Nymex crude oil rose by US$3.76 or 4.2pct to US$93.96 a barrel and London Brent crude rose by US$3.17 to US$112.08 a barrel.

Base metal prices posted strong gains on optimism about global economic growth following the Euro debt deal. Lead rose 6.2pct with copper up 6.1pct and zinc rose by 5pct. And the gold price rose in line with other commodities and in response to a weaker US dollar. The Comex December gold price rose by US$24.20 an ounce to US$1,747.70.

Ahead: In Australia, Macquarie Group releases first half results. Qantas holds its AGM. In the US, personal income, the employment cost index and consumer sentiment are released.