In US economic data, new claims for unemployment insurance fell from 332,000 to 300,000 in the latest week, well below forecasts centred on a result near 320,000. Import prices rose by 0.6% in March with export prices up 0.8% - both results above expectations. And the Federal Budget was $36.9 billion in deficit in March, around half economist forecasts.
Local stocks continued their upward trajectory today, consolidating at the best levels we've seen since June 2008. The All Ordinaries Index (XAO) added 17.2 points or 0.3 per cent by the close to finish at 5477.5 points.
The Australian sharemarket is continuing to improve, with the All Ordinaries Index (XAO) 0.5 per cent firmer and near a six-year high. No sectors are escaping the gains, with at least modest improvements felt across the board. So far this month, local stocks have improved by 1.65 per cent.
We witnessed more green on screen for the US equity markets overnight as the FOMC minutes beat down any thought of an early rates rise in the Fed funds rate.
In US economic data, wholesale sales rose by 0.7% in February with inventories up 0.5%. The sales data was short of forecasts centred on a 1.0% increase. The weekly index of mortgage activity fell 1.6% with purchases up and refinancing down.
Interest in the medical marijuana business continues to grow after two U.S. states and a few countries had legalised the trade. Also expected to expand as a result of that development is the physical space to legally cultivate cannabis.
The resumption of pings received by the Australian ship Ocean Shield has provided a ray of hope in the month-long search for the missing Malaysian Airline Boeing 777 jet which mysteriously disappeared on March 8 with 239 people aboard while on its way to Beijing from Kuala Lumpur.
The Australian sharemarket had its best day in two months, with the All Ordinaries Index (XAO) ending 1 per cent firmer by the close. The ASX200 Index finished not too far off a six-year high and is 75 per cent higher than the lows hit in March 2009. At its best, local stocks were up 1.2 per cent today and the low was hit on the open, with the XAO up 0.6 per cent. All sectors improved, with some solid gains from the miners and banks helping most.
The local share market has tested five year highs in early trade, with every sector well supported.
The NASDAQ broke its three-day rout with a 0.9% rise as Google, Facebook and eBay added 2%. The S&P and the Dow also broke its four-day downtrend, which will see support for the broader market, particularly the information technology space. However, this does not mean that after this slight pull back the tech space would make the sector fundamentally cheap; it is likely that the market direction in these stocks over the coming week will be downward as they return to fair value.
In US economic data, weekly chain store sales were up by 2.9% in the latest week compared with a year earlier, up from the 2.3% annualised gain in the previous week.
To approve or reject - those are the options suggested by the Queensland Land Court to the state government on the planned $6.2-billion Alpha Coal Mine in Galilee Basin. The project is a joint venture between Australia's richest person Gina Rinehart and GVK, an Indian conglomerate.
Despite the shade of legality that medical marijuana has recently acquired from courts and even stock exchanges, the warning of experts that it is too early to place a person's well earned money in the industry via shares acquisition has some truth to it.
The Australian share market closed only modestly lower on Tuesday despite big falls once again on Wall Street overnight. Investors continued to sell out of biotech and technology stocks on fears they are overpriced.
The Australian sharemarket is losing ground for the second day, with the All Ordinaries Index (XAO) down 0.4 per cent and trading below the 5400pt level. Local shares are now down by just 0.16 per cent so far in April; however are still 0.75 per cent firmer since the start of this calendar year. Volume was significantly held back yesterday due to a Chinese public holiday. Sharemarkets in China are resuming normal trade today. U.S. stocks slumped for the third day overnight, with the tech specifi...
The visit of the royal trio Duke and Duchess of Cambridge plus Prince George may have whet the appetite of the Kiwis these days, but it should not be mistaken for a fact the fascination will go long term. A poll released on Monday said Kiwis don't want William as king and prefer a homegrown to become head of state.
With the NASDAQ logging its worst three days of trade since November 2011 last night, the growing roar of the bears was easy to see. The bears point to several reasons for their calls on tech stocks, including technical breakdowns, over valuations and the fact that these stocks have been some of the best performers of the last 24 months; profit is glaring.
In US economic data, the employment trends index rose from 117.01 to 117.52 in March. Consumer credit rose by US$16.49 billion in February, above the forecast for a US$14.09 billion rise..
It is not just the Wolf of Weed Street who made a lot of money on trading medical cannabis stocks. Early traders of Tweed Marijuana (TWD) shares on Friday, when the company became the first publicly traded producer of medical weed at the TSX Venture Exchange in Canada, also got a financial high.
Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott signed on Monday evening in Tokyo the Japan-Australia Economic Partnership Agreement with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. The multi-billion dollar agreement would cover the next 20 years and open doors for both Australian and Japanese markets for each others' products.
The Australian sharemarket kicked off the week a touch lower, with the All Ordinaries Index (XAO) down 0.2 per cent; remaining modestly above the 5400pt mark. Tomb sweeping day in China is being observed today, resulting in the closure of China's markets. Last week, the XAO rose by close to 1 per cent, making it the third straight week of improvements.
The Australian share market has started the trading week in the red, following weakness on Wall Street on Friday.
We saw an interesting reaction to the non-farm payrolls on Friday night, with a read of 192,000 - short of the consensus read of 200,000. However, it was the first time the ADP read and the official read had been with in 2000 of each other in over two years. It was also interesting considering the consensus print had been bid up on some calling for the possibility of 300,000 jobs to be added.
In US economic data, non-farm payrolls (employment) rose by 192,000 in March, just short of the median forecast tipping a rise of 200,000 jobs. The unemployment rate was steady at 6.7%. Average earnings were flat and the work week rose from 34.3 hours to 34.5 hours.
A 35-year-old disaster consultant quit his job in December after making $515,000 so far in trading marijuana stocks. Thanks to the legalisation of cannabis in some states, trading in the once-prohibited drug - both in real leaf and on paper - is becoming a growing subsector in international stock trading.
Australia is the top place to be a teenager, according to a study by the Center for Strategic and International Studies and the International Youth Foundation. The two organisations drew a Global Youth Wellbeing Index that it released this week.
The Australian sharemarket rose modestly for the third time this week, with the All Ordinaries Index (XAO) edging 0.1 per cent higher by the close. The XAO finished above the 5400pt mark, helped by the fourth consecutive record close for U.S. markets last night.
The Australian sharemarket is treading water ahead of the all-important non-farm payrolls report out later this evening. This is the most important piece of insight into the state of North America's employment market.
In US economic data, the ADP Private Employment report showed job gains of 191,000 for the private sector in March mostly in line with forecasts. The February result was revised up from 139,000 to 178,000. US factory orders jumped 1.6% in February. Shipments of new orders lifted by 0.9% in February - the biggest gain in seven months. However the prior January result was revised to show a larger fall of 1%.
The EUR has crossed below its 50-day moving average for the first time since February, as Mario Draghi and the ECB board uses much grittier and direct language, giving the market a real sense that QE is coming.
