Australian Stock Market Report – Morning August 27, 2014

Real estate — British Colombia Introduces Online Arbitration For Strata Disputes: IN PHOTO: A visitor looks at a model of new apartment complex at a showroom of Evergrande Real Estate Group in Wuhan, Hubei province, in this November 9, 2013 file picture. China's third largest property developer, Evergrande Real Estate, has joined smaller peers in offering zero-interest downpayment loans, a practice reminiscent of the U.S. housing boom that precipitated the global financial crisis. Reuters/Stringer

* In US economic data, the CaseShiller home price series fell 0.2% in June, weaker than expectations. But the FHFA home price series rose by 0.4% in June to stand 5.1% higher than a year ago. Durable good orders rose by 22.6% in July, but excluding aircraft, orders fell by 0.5%, below forecasts of a 0.5% gain. And consumer confidence rose from 90.9 to 92.4, above forecasts for a result near 89.0 and the highest level since October 2007.

* European shares rose on Tuesday on the continued prospect of more stimulus from the European Central Bank. The FTSEurofirst 300 index rose by 0.75% while the Euro STOXX 50 index rose 1%, posting its best two-day rise since June 2013. The German Dax was up by 0.8% while the UK FTSE gained 0.7%. But Australia's major miners fell in London trade with shares in BHP Billiton down by less than 0.1% while Rio Tinto lost 1.0%.

* US sharemarkets posted modest gains on Tuesday. Consumer confidence rose to post-GFC highs, boosting shares of retailers. But shares in Best Buy lost 6.85% after the electronics retailer forecast a fall in same-store sales. The Dow Jones index lifted by 30 points or 0.2% with the S&P 500 index up by 2.10 points or 0.1% to 2000.02 -the first close above 2,000 points. And the Nasdaq rose by 13 points or 0.3% to fresh 14-year highs.

* US treasury prices were flat in thin trade on Tuesday despite firmer US economic data and gains on the sharemarket. US Treasury will sell $35 billion in five-year notes on Wednesday and $29 billion in seven-year notes on Thursday, as well as $13 billion in two-year floating-rate notes on Wednesday. US 2 year yields fell by 2 points to 0.496% while US 10 year yields were flat at 2.394%.

* Major currencies ended mixed against the US dollar after European and US sessions on Tuesday. The Euro fell from highs near US$1.3215 to around US$1.3165, before ending US trade near US$1.3170. The Aussie dollar rose from lows near US92.90c to highs near US93.30c before ending the US session close to US93.05c. And the Japanese yen eased from 103.81 yen per US dollar to JPY104.17, ending US trade near JPY104.03.

* World oil prices were mixed on Tuesday. Brent crude fell on continued evidence of ample global supplies of crude despite geopolitical risks. But US Nymex crude rose in response to positive US economic data. Brent crude fell by US15c or 0.1% to US$102.50 a barrel but the US Nymex price lifted by US51c a barrel or 0.5% to US$93.86 a barrel.

* Base metal prices were mixed on Tuesday but gains or losses didn't exceed 1.0%. Nickel rose 1% while tin fell 0.6%. Gold prices rose on Tuesday with the Comex gold futures quote up by US$6.30 or 0.5% to US$1,285.20 per ounce. Iron ore fell by US30c or 0.3% on Monday to US$88.90 a tonne.

Ahead: In Australia, construction work data is released. In the US, the Richmond and Dallas Federal Reserve indexes are released.

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