Australian Stock Market Report – Morning November 27, 2014

A couple hold hands as they walk through downtown Sydney with their shopping from Australian department store retailer Myer, March 6, 2014. Reuters/Jason Reed

* In US economic data: personal spending +0.2%, income +0.2%; durable goods orders +0.4%; weekly jobless claims +21,000 to 313,000; Chicago purchasing manager's index down from 66.2 to 60.8; pending home sales down 1.1%; new home sales +0.7%; consumer sentiment down from 89.4 to 88.8; weekly mortgage market index down 4.3% with purchases down 5.8%.

* European shares were mixed on Wednesday. Investors awaited the meeting of OPEC oil nations; digested US economic data; and mused whether the European Central Bank will deliver more stimulus next week. The FTSEurofirst 300 index was up less than 0.1%, the German Dax lifted for the 10th straight day, up by 0.6%, while the UK FTSE fell by 2 points higher or less than 0.1%. In London trade shares in BHP Billiton rose by 0.8% while Rio Tinto gained 0.5%.

* US sharemarkets again held in tight trading ranges on Wednesday as investors digested economic data and prepared for the Thanksgiving Day holiday. Shares in Hewlett Packard rose by 4.1% after reporting fourth quarter results. At the close of trade, the Dow Jones was up by 13 points or 0.1% after trading in a 40 point range. The S&P 500 index was up by 0.3% to record highs and the Nasdaq gained 29 points or 0.6%.

* US long-term treasuries rose again on Wednesday (yields lower) with the barrage of new economic data on the softer side of market expectations. Treasury sold $29 billion of seven-year notes also on Wednesday. US 2 year yields were steady near 0.52% while US 10 year yields fell by 1 point to 2.246%.

* Major currencies fell against the greenback in European trade but recouped losses in the US session on Wednesday. The Euro lifted from lows near US$1.2445 to highs near US$1.2530, and was around US$1.2510 in late US trade. The Aussie dollar fell from highs near US85.60c to around US84.80c but lifted to near US85.50c in late US trade. And the Japanese yen strengthened from 117.89 yen per US dollar to JPY117.43 and was near JPY117.73 in late US trade.

* World oil prices eased on Wednesday as investors digested the barrage of economic data in the US and positioned ahead of the meeting by OPEC oil nations to set production quotas. Brent crude fell by US58c or 0.7% to US$77.75 a barrel while the US Nymex crude price fell by US40c or 0.5% to US$73.69 a barrel.

* Base metal prices were higher by up to 0.5% on the London Metal Exchange on Wednesday but nickel fell by 1.1% and copper lost 0.3%. Gold fell slightly with Comex gold futures down by US50c an ounce or less than 0.1% to US$1,196.60 per ounce. Iron ore fell by US60c to US$68.00 a tonne on Wednesday.

Ahead: In Australia, data on new home sales and business investment are released. In the US, markets are closed for Thanksgiving Day.

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