MARKETS

Oil prices went their separate ways on Monday as the October delivery for Brent North Sea crude soared by US 38 cents in London while New York’s light sweet crude deliveries for the same month barrelled down by US 14 cents to $US74.46 per barrel.

Following steady movement on the London Metal Exchange, gold may again shoot up as analysts said it would take its cue from encouraging employment news in the United States last week, where more jobs slated to be added by employers spurred a rally of six key industrial metals, led by zinc and silver, which gained its record level for the past three weeks.

UK new car registrations were down 17.5pct in August from a year ago. New car registrations have now fallen for the second straight month following the end of an incentive to scrap old model vehicles.

The Aussie dollar traded sideways since the commencement of the week's trade bouncing between 0.9145 and 0.9175 for the majority of Monday's Asian session and last night's offshore trade.

The AUD has opened this morning relatively unchanged as the overnight session provided little direction with the US markets closed for Labour Day.

The Australian share market opens flat, primarily, because the European markets had a firm closing and US markets being closed overnight for Labor day.

The Australian bourse ended Monday's trading day strongly, with gains accelerating in the afternoon as banks and miners rose, overshadowing heavy losses by Macquarie Group after the investment bank announced a profit downgrade.

The Australian share market was higher at Monday noon, buoyed by most financial and mining stocks.

The Australian share market has kicked off the trading week on a buoyant note, following a strong lead from Wall Street on Friday night.

The Australian debt market opened with traders selling off bonds.

The Australian shares market is expected to take the lead from the favorable closing at the Wall Street on Friday.

The AUD has opened firmly in the mid 0.9100's this morning after benefitting from the US payroll data released on Friday that saw a fall of 54k in jobs as compared to the expected decline of 105k jobs.

US non-farm payrolls (employment) fell by 54,000 in August, far better than expectations for a 110,000 decline in jobs. Estimates of job losses in June and July were also revised down.

U.S. stocks climbed Friday, with J.P. Morgan Chase, Caterpillar and International Business Machines leading the charge as a better than expected jobs report for August helped the market snap a three week losing streak.

The resurgence in the Aussie dollar continued on Friday night with the unwinding of risk trades persisting following the release of the U.S employment report.

The Australian stockmarket on Friday ended the week with a third successive strong performance as investors regained some confidence in the outlook for the global economy.

Junior mining firm Terramin Australia Ltd (ASX: TZN) said on Friday that its quest for acquisition targets is still underway as the company underscored its expansion plans by purchasing base metal projects that would deliver other opportunities aside from the companies core products of zinc.

Qantas Airways said on Friday that amidst the improving global environments, the aviation industry is still locked in a challenging situation which explains its commitment in to the two-airline approach that company said would provide more room for economic flexibility, market leverage and a solid cash flow.

The Australian share market is holding on to gains, after losing some ground with all four major banks slipping into the red.

Gold prices registered gains on Thursday’s closing as investors scrambled to secure bullion purchases in anticipation of the August job data that could lead to a tottering US labour market and the expected rush for the safe-haven investments.

As the US economy continues its slow recovery, oil prices barrelled through the $US75 per barrel with the light, sweet crude settled at $US1.11 to fetch $US75.02 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange while Brent crude traded at $US0.56 to end up at $US76.91 a barrel on the ICE future exchange.

Trading at the Australian Stock Exchange is going strong for the third straight day. The September share price index contract went up 30 points at 4,559.

The Australian bourse has closed stronger on Thursday as investors took heart from positive economic data. The market posted a second successive day of strong gains, with all sectors in the black.

The Australian share market has posted a second successive day of good gains with all sectors showing strength. Thursday's rise reflected the positive mood on Wall Street after its best day in eight weeks.

Risk is back in fashion. Global share markets have entered a patch of blue sky on the back of sunnier economic reports from around the world.

The Australian bourse held its ground in the black by Thursday noon, although stocks have trimmed some opening gains as profit-taking set in.

Giant mining firm BHP Billiton Ltd has announced on Wednesday that it made some revisions on its proposal to acquire Canadian fertiliser maker Potash Corp of Saskatchewan, though the miner admitted that the adjustment were immaterial to the bid’s current status.

Significant growth in the manufacturing sectors in the United States and in China was favorable for the shares market, but a suction pump for the bond market.

U.S. stocks rallied Wednesday, with Bank of America, Caterpillar and J.P. Morgan Chase leading broad gains in a strong start to September after manufacturing data topped expectations.