Australian Stock Market Report – Morning September 16, 2014

Morning commuters pass by the New York Stock Exchange September 15, 2014. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid (UNITED STATES - Tags: BUSINESS)

* In US economic data, industrial production fell by 0.1% in August - the first decline since January. US Capacity utilisation fell from 79.1 to 78.8 in August. The New York Fed's Empire State general business conditions index rose from 14.69 to 27.54 in September -the highest since October 2009.

* European shares were mixed on Monday, with stocks trading in a narrow range ahead of the vote on Scottish independence. The FTSEurofirst 300 index fell by 0.05% with the German Dax up by 0.1% while the UK FTSE closed flat. Australia's major miners were mixed in London trade with shares in BHP Billiton down 0.4 per cent and Rio Tinto up 0.9 per cent.

* US sharemarkets were mixed on Monday with the tech sector dragging the Nasdaq lower and as investors waited on the FOMC meeting and Alibaba listing. The Dow Jones index rose by 44 points or 0.3%. The broader S&P 500 index fell by 0.1% while the Nasdaq lost 49 points or 1.1%.

* US treasury prices rose on Monday (yields lower) as the weaker US factory data eased some concerns about the threat of earlier than expected US rate hikes. US 2 year yields fell by 2 points to 0.54% while US 10 year yields fell by 2 points to 2.59%.

* Major currencies were generally lower against the greenback over the European and US sessions on Monday. The US dollar index held near recent 15-month highs. The Euro fell from highs near US$1.2965 to US$1.2910, before ending US trade near US$1.2940. The Aussie dollar rose from lows near US89.80c to highs around US90.50c before ending the US session near US90.25c. And the Japanese yen held between 107.35 yen per US dollar and JPY107.05, ending US trade near JPY107.15.

* World oil prices rose on Monday recovering the prior session's losses and bouncing of technical lows. Brent crude rose by US77c or 0.8% to US$97.88 a barrel with the US Nymex price up by US56c a barrel or 0.7% to US$92.92 a barrel.

* Base metal prices were mostly weaker on Monday as traders continued to weigh up the week factory data from China. Aluminium fell 2% with Nickel also down by 1.9% to a three month low on a lift in inventories. Copper prices ended flat after early weakness. Goldprices rose from an eight-month low on Monday with the Comex gold futures quote higher by US$3.60 an ounce or 0.3% to US$1,235.10 per ounce. Iron ore rose by US$3.20 or 3.8% on Monday to US$85.20 a tonne.

Ahead: In Australia, RBA Board Minutes are released. RBA Assistant Governor Kent speaks at the Bloomberg Summit. In the US, the FOMC meeting begins.

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