Australian Stock Market Report – Morning 4-12-13

US MARKET CLOSE MORNING REPORT
(6.30am AEST)

In US economic news, new claims for unemployment insurance plunged by 42,000 to 346,000 in the latest week, well below forecasts centred on a result near 365,000. The March budget deficit was $107 billion, near forecasts of $112.5 billion. And export prices fell 0.4pct in March with import prices down 0.5pct.

European shares rose for a fourth straight day with investors encouraged by economic data and inflows to asset managers. The FTSEurofirst 300 index rose by 0.6pct with the UK FTSE index up by 0.5pct while the German Dax was up 0.8pct. But mining shares were mixed with BHP Billiton down by 0.9pct in London trade while Rio Tinto rose by less than 0.1pct.

US sharemarket indices rose again on Thursday with the Dow Jones and S&P 500 hitting fresh record highs over the session. The Dow Jones index rose by almost 63pts or 0.4pct with the S&P 500 up by 0.4pct. But technology stocks underperformed after data showed that PC sales had recorded the largest quarterly drop in 20 years of records. Shares in Hewlett Packard fell by 6.5pct. The Nasdaq rose by just 2.9pts or 0.1pct.

US long-term treasuries were little changed on Thursday ahead of key economic data to be released on Friday. US 2yr yields were flat at 0.234pct while US 10yr yields fell by 2pts to 1.79pct.

Major currencies were mixed against the US dollar on Thursday in European and US trade. The Euro rose from near US$1.3065 to around US$1.3135 before settling near US$1.3105 at the close of US trade. The Aussie dollar rose from lows near US105.15c to highs near US105.80c before easing to US105.45c at the end of the US session. And the Japanese yen lifted from 99.76 yen per US dollar to JPY99.14, before reversing course and weakening in US trade to end at JPY99.83.

World crude oil prices fell on Thursday. While US economic data was better-than-expected, investors were more focussed on another cut in global oil demand forecasts by the International Energy Agency. The IEA cut the global oil demand forecast by 25,000 barrels per day to 795,000 barrels per day - the third month that the forecaster has trimmed its forecast. Brent crude fell by US$1.52 or 1.4pct to US$104.27 and US Nymex crude fell by US$1.13 or 1.2pct to US$93.51 a barrel.

Base metal prices were mixed on the London Metals Exchange on Thursday. Aluminium, lead and tin fell up to 0.6pct but other metals rose up to 1.4pct. And the gold price rose, with the most active Comex June futures price up by US$6.10 an ounce or 0.4pct to US$1,564.90 per ounce. The iron ore price rose by US30c to US$140.90 a tonne.

Ahead: In Australia, credit and debit card lending figures are released. In the US, producer prices, retail sales and consumer sentiment figures are released.

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