Australian Stock Market Report – Morning December 10, 2014

Kiva robots move inventory at an Amazon fulfilment center in Tracy, California December 1, 2014. Amazon.com Inc has installed more than 15,000 robots across 10 U.S. warehouses, a move that promises to cut operating costs by one-fifth and get packages out the door more quickly in the run-up to Christmas. REUTERS/Noah Berger (UNITED STATES - Tags: SCIENCE TECHNOLOGY BUSINESS)

* In US economic data, wholesale inventories rose by 0.4% in October after an upwardly revised 0.4% gain in September (previously reported as a 0.3% rise). Wholesale sales lifted by 0.2% in October. An ISM industry report on the US manufacturing sector expected revenue to rise by 5.6% in 2015, with capital investment expected to lift by 3.7%.

* European shares fell to a two-week low on Tuesday, led down by a slump in Greek stocks after an unexpected decision to bring forward the country's presidential election. Concerns centred on the strength of the anti bail-out Syriza party. The Greek ATG stock index fell 12.8% - posting the biggest one-day fall since November 1987. The banking sector bore the brunt of the weakness. Peripheral economies also fell with Spain's IBEX down 3.2% and Italy's FTSE MIB down 2.8%. The FTSEurofirst 300 index was down by 2.3% with the German Dax also lower by 2.2% while the UK lost 2.1%. In London trade shares in BHP Billiton fell by 1.6% while Rio Tinto eased 1.2%.

* US sharemarkets were mixed on Tuesday but were well of session lows, supported by gains in tech and energy shares. The S&P energy sector gained 0.8% after losing 3.9% in the prior session. However political and growth concerns in Greece and the broader Euro zone dominated sentiment. At the close of trade, the

Dow Jones was lower by 51 points or 0.3%, after being down by almost 220 points. The S&P 500 index closed flat while the Nasdaq gained 26 points or 0.5%.

* US treasuries rose on Tuesday (yields lower). The slide in global equities increased the demand for safe haven US debt. US 2 year yields fell 1 point to 0.619% while US 10 year yields fell by 4 points to 2.222%.

* Major currencies were generally firmer against the greenback in European and US trade on Tuesday. The Euro lifted from lows near US$1.2310 to around US$1.2450 and was near US$1.2370 in late US trade. The Aussie dollar rose from lows near US82.30c to around US83.65c and was around US82.95c in late US trade. And the Japanese yen strengthened from 120.25 yen per US dollar to JPY118.05 and was near JPY119.55 in late US trade.

* World oil prices rose for the first time in five sessions as traders speculated on a sustainable oil price. A weaker US dollar helped support the bid for oil. Brent crude rose by US53c or 0.8% to US$66.72 a barrel. US Nymex crude price rose by US77c or 1.2% to US$63.82 a barrel.

* Base metal prices were mostly higher on the London Metal Exchange on Tuesday with the exception of nickel (down 0.8%) and lead (down 0.7%). Copper led the gains up 1.2%. Gold rose on Tuesday in response to a weaker greenback and safe-haven buying. The Comex gold futures price was up by US$37.10 an ounce or

3.1% to US$1,232.00 per ounce. Iron ore fell by US30c to US$69.40 a tonne on Tuesday.

Ahead: In Australia housing finance and consumer sentiment figures are released. In the US, no economic data is released. Chinese inflation data is expected.

[Kick off your trading day with our newsletter]