Australian Stock Market Report – Morning August 8, 2014

Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange July 17, 2014. U.S. stocks fell sharply lower on Thursday, with the S

* In US economic data, consumer credit rose by a less than expected $17.26 billion to $3.21 trillion in June. Revolving credit, which mostly measures credit-card use, increased only $941.54 million after a downwardly revised $1.74 billion in May- it was still the fourth consecutive monthly increase. US jobless claims fell by 14,000 to 289,000 last week.

* European shares fell on Thursday, as concerns about Portugal's banking system and tensions along the Russia Ukraine border hit sentiment. Lisbon's benchmark PSI-20 index closed down 2.3%. Russia imposed a one-year ban on all imports of meat, fish, dairy, fruit and vegetables from the US, EU, Canada, Australia and

Norway. As expected the European Central Bank kept its main interest rate at a record low of 0.15%. The FTSEurofirst 300 index fell by 0.7% with the German Dax down by 1% while the UK FTSE lost 0.6%. Australia's major miners were weaker in London trade with shares in BHP Billiton down 2.1% while Rio Tinto lost 0.5%.

* US sharemarkets fell on Thursday but closed off their session lows. Concerns about sanctions between Russia and the West erased early gains after the upbeat employment data. The Dow Jones index ended lower by 75 points or 0.5% with the S&P 500 index down 0.6% while the Nasdaq lost 20 points or 0.5%

* US treasury prices rose on Thursday (yields lower) as news that a Ukrainian fighter jet had been downed rattled investors and drove safe-haven demand. US 2 year yields fell by 4 points to 0.43% while US 10 year yields fell 6 point to 2.41%.

* The Euro eased against the US dollar on Thursday, following the ECB decision to keep interest rates on hold but still keep the door open for QE. The Euro fell from highs near US$1.3385 to lows around US$1.3335, ending US trade near US$1.3360. The Aussie dollar fell to early lows near US92.60c before lifting to highs near US92.80c, ending the US session near US92.70c. And the Japanese yen strengthened from 102.35 yen per US dollar to JPY101.95, ending US trade near JPY102.05.

* World oil prices rose on Thursday after reports that the US was considering airstrikes on Islamic militants in Iraq revived concerns about supply disruptions. Brent crude rose by US64 cents or 0.6% to US$105.44 a barrel and the US Nymex price rose by US42 cents to US$97.34 a barrel.

* Base metal prices were mostly higher on Thursday with the exception of zinc which fell 1.4%. Copper lifted from a five week low up 0.5%. Other metals lifted between 0.2%-1.1%. Gold prices rose on Thursday supported by safe-haven buying. Comex gold futures quote rose by US$4.30 or 0.3% to US$1,312.50 per ounce. Iron ore rose by US10c on Thursday or 0.1% to US$96.00 a tonne.

Ahead: In Australia, the RBA Statement on Monetary Policy is released. In the US, wholesale inventories are released.

[Kick off your trading day with our newsletter]