Australian Stock Market Report – Morning December 30, 2014

A woman hangs shoes on a shelf at a shoe factory in Hanoi November 13, 2014. REUTERS/Kham (VIETNAM - Tags: BUSINESS EMPLOYMENT TEXTILE)

* In US economic data, the Dallas Federal Reserve manufacturing index eased from +10.5 to +4.1 in December.

* European shares rose on Monday despite new uncertainty in Greece. The Greek sharemarket fell by 3.9% after parliament rejected the government's candidate for president, prompting the Prime Minister to call fresh elections for January. But while southern European bourses softened, the FTSEurofirst 300 index rose by

0.2%, the German Dax edged 0.1% higher, while the UK FTSE rose by 0.4%. In London trade shares in BHP Billiton gained 2.8% while Rio Tinto rose by 2.7%.

* US sharemarkets were flat in thin trade ahead of the end of the month, quarter and year. Stocks in the auto and retail sector were strongest, in response to a lower oil price. At the close of trade, the Dow Jones was down by 15.5 points or 0.1% after trading in a tight 52 point range. The S&P 500 index was up by 0.1% and the Nasdaq was up by less than 1 point or less than 0.1%.

* US treasuries rose on Monday (yields lower) as the announcement of new elections in Greece created uncertainty, causing some buying of safe-haven government bonds. US 2 year yields fell by 4pts to 0.712% while US 10 year yields also fell by 5pts to 2.209%.

* Major currencies fell against the greenback in European and US trade on Monday. The Euro eased from highs of US$1.2215 to lows near US$1.2140, and was around US$1.2150 in late US trade. The Aussie dollar rose from lows near US81.30c to around US81.60c but was trading lower back near US81.30c in late US trade. And the Japanese yen eased from 120.17 yen per US dollar to JPY120.72 and was near the weakest levels in late US trade.

* World oil prices continued to slide on Monday, erasing gains made earlier in the session. Reuters reported that prices rose early on concerns about fighting in Libya causing the shutdown of two of the country's two largest ports, Es Sider and Ras Lanuf. "But prices retreated as investors concluded that disruptions in Libya will not remove much supply from the global market." Brent crude fell by US$1.57 or 2.6% to US$57.88 a barrel while the US Nymex crude price fell by US$1.12 or 2.0% to US$53.61 a barrel.

* Base metal prices were mixed on the London Metal Exchange on Monday. Tin rose 1.2%, copper rose 0.2% but other prices fell up to 1.9% with nickel leading the declines. Gold fell on Monday with the Comex gold futures price down by US$13.40 an ounce or 1.1% to US$1,181.90 per ounce. Iron ore rose by US$1.20 to US$67.90 a tonne on Monday.

Ahead: In Australia no economic data is released. In the US, data on weekly chain store sales is released with home prices, consumer confidence and the Dallas Federal Reserve services index.

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