MARKETS

There was no US economic data released overnight after the weekly mortgage applications index was delayed until next week. I

An increase in risk appetite has seen the Australian dollar rally to fresh highs once again against the Greenback, reaching 1.0180 in the early hours of this morning.

The Australian share market emerged from the Christmas trading break to close flat.

Local stocks closed flat on the first trading day after the Christmas break, with volumes once again low.

Singapore Exchange (SGX) will try to push through its proposed $7.8 billion acquisition of Australian stock exchange ASX despite strong opposition in Australia.

Trading volumes are very light on the local market after the US and European markets closed mixed overnight.

U.S. stocks are mixed, with the blue chips slowly but surely climbing through the trading session, getting some help from a Treasury market that is diving.

On Christmas Day the People´s Bank of China lifted benchmark interest rates by 25 basis points.

The festive season has proved to be no deterrent for the Australian Dollar with the commodity currency rallying to highs near 1.0150 as of yesterday’s North American session.

The Australian three-year bonds opened slightly weaker following release of strong US data overnight.

The Australian dollar has opened stronger this morning, keeping its head above USD1.0000 due to strong commodity price in very thin holiday trade.

U.S. stocks were slightly lower Thursday, trading in a tight range as a mixed bag of economic data left investors with little reason to make major position changes ahead of the holiday.

US new home sales rose by 5.5pct to a seasonally adjusted 290,000 unit annual pace.

Christmas has come early for Australian importers as the dollar continued to trade just below parity in local trade yesterday.

The Australian stock market ended the day on a high, as resource and financial stocks both rallied.

Local stocks closed at highs not seen since April today, underpinned by stronger commodity prices and takeover activity. In thin trade, the All Ordinaries Index (XAO) rose 18.6pts or 0.4pct to finish at 4888.2.

Local stocks are managing to hold on to six week highs, although trading volumes are light.

Next week's release of $100 billion US Treasury bonds weighed on the Australian bond market as it opened weaker today.

The Australian dollar remains well supported despite further bad news out of Europe overnight.

U.S. stocks climbed to fresh two year highs Wednesday, led by financial companies as bank stocks continued to benefit from recent merger activity while the latest round of data pointed to a still recovering economy.

US existing home sales rose by 5.6pct in November to a 4.68 million annual pace - marking the highest reading since June.

The Australian Dollar continued to hold above the 99 cents mark yesterday in local trade despite there being no domestic data to drive direction.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ordered two San Francisco-based hedge funds and three former employees to pay $1.2 million for multiple antifraud violations.

The Australian stock market closed marginally higher on low trading volumes after gains by mining giant BHP Billiton offset weaker performances by the banks.

Local stocks managed to hold on to six month highs today and post a small win, thanks to strength from the miners.

Local stocks are making modest gains in early trade, but appear to have run out of steam following yesterday’s rally.

The Australian bond market opens softer Tuesday with the prevailing thin trading volumes brought by the holiday season.

The Australian bond market weakened slightly as it remained unaffected by the release of the December 7th meeting minutes of the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA).

The AUD has opened at USD 0.9974 this morning as Wall Street shares closed higher amid light trading overnight.