MARKETS

The Australian sharemarket was in the red for most of the day, only to surge in late trade. The All Ordinaries Index (XAO) rose by 0.17 per cent, with only the mining, telco and utility sectors finishing lower.

On top of its heavy losses in its international operations, Australian flag carrier Qantas suffered turbulence on Thursday when Moody's downgraded the air carrier's rating to junk.

Sellers remain in control of the ASX 200 on Thursday, finding traction as the US jobs report wheels into sharper focus following the developments in the last 24 hours.

The FOMC minutes were the main event of the overnight session and really didn't bring too many surprises. With most Fed members supporting the decision to taper as the economic benefits of the program have diminished, the conversation has switched to whether we'll see a more deterministic path to winding back on asset purchases.

In US economic news, the ADP National Employment Report showed the private sector added 238,000 jobs in December - the fastest pace in 13 months. Analysts are looking for around 200,000 jobs to be added on Friday´s non-farm payrolls number.

The Australian live cattle export industry to Indonesia is expected to receive a boost in 2014, resulting in over 70 per cent increase of volume. It would reverse the large cuts made Jakarta the past few years in retaliation for the expose of mistreatment of the animal before slaughter and to reduce heavy reliance on imported Australian meat.

The local market failed at its attempt to recover this afternoon despite improving from the lows hit just before midday. The All Ords (XAO) finished largely flat after three days of losses, with the index slipping by a few points.

Wednesday's trading session is panning out in similar fashion to Tuesday, with the Australian market fading after a strong start. The All Ordinaries Index (XAO) is down by close to 0.2 per cent, with the miners once again the worst performers.

Europe and the US finally shook off the holiday hangover overnight as a risk rally took shape on strong German employment gains and stellar US trade balance.

In US economic news, the US trade deficit narrowed by 12.9% to $34.3 billion - the smallest deficit in four years. Exports lifted by 0.9% to a record high $194.9 billion, largely driven by a record lift in petroleum exports. Imports fell by 1.4%.

Will Shell exit the petrol retail business? That is the speculation circulating in business circles amid talks that the oil and gas giant plans to sell its 900 petrol stations in Australia as well as the Geelong refinery.

The Australian sharemarket failed to hold onto gains of as much as 0.35 per cent today, only to fade in the final hour of trade. The All Ordinaries Index (XAO) lost 0.2 per cent, slipping for the third day, with the mining sector bearing the brunt of the selling.

The Australian share market is flat at lunchtime in the East, despite a positive start.

24 hours of global weakness have many talking about what to expect in 2014 after fairly universal disappointments from the world's service PMI reads.

In US economic news, the ISM non-manufacturing index slipped from 53.9 to 53.0 in December - the slowest expansion in six months. The business activity index was relatively robust at 55.2. The biggest decline occurred in the forward orders index which fell 7 points to 49.4 - the first signs of a contraction since July 2009. US factory orders lifted by 1.8% in November, in line with estimates. Excluding transportation factory orders rose by 0.6%.

The Australian sharemarket steadily worsened this afternoon, with the All Ordinaries (XAO) falling 0.5 per cent by close. Today was extremely quiet on the volume front however, with investors in holiday mode. There were around half as many shares traded as usual. The banks were minimising the losses at lunch; however the gains fell away with the rest of the market later in the session.

Despite a better start to the trading session this morning, the Australian sharemarket has slipped into the red with no major events to act as market drivers. The All Ordinaries Index (XAO) is down 0.2 per cent, with some modest gains from the financials helping to limit the losses.

Today marks the start of the first full trading week of 2014; however, it is unlikely we will see the current low volume trading environment improve. This is likely to return in mid to late January when all managers and investors finally settle back into work.

A number of US Fed members spoke on Friday and Saturday, with timing of stimulus withdrawal being the overarching theme. Philadelphia Fed President Plosser said the Fed could cut QE by larger than $10 billion increments if data improves, floating a hypothetical amount of $25 billion. He also commented that the FOMC is still debating possible rules for taper. Fed Chairman Bernanke said that the Fed was no less committed to accommodative policy despite recent announcements to slow its stimulus pro...

The huge blaze in October that killed seven workers and razed a Bangladeshi textile factory that made materials for known retail outlets found in Australia such a Kmart, Target, Big W and Just Jeans brought to fore not only the sweatshop conditions in these facilities.

The Australian share market joined Wall Street and other Asian markets to close in the red today, as profit takers moved in following a solid 2013 for investors.

The Australian share market is being sold off in early trade, after profit takers moved in on Wall Street on the first trading day of the 2014 year.

It was a strange old session on Wall Street and in Europe; however the end result should be weakness in global cyclicals in Asia today.

In US economic news, jobless claims fell for the second consecutive week down by 2,000 to 339,000 last week - suggesting labour market continued to steadily improve. The US Markit PMI lifted from 54.7 to 55.0 in December - the fastest pace in 11 months. Across the subindices a solid increase was recorded in output and employment. US ISM manufacturing factory activity eased marginally from 57.3 to 57.0 in December. US construction spending rose by 1% to a five year high.

Australian oil and gas firm Woodside Petroleum just lost a lucrative $2-billion supply deal on Thursday to sell 1.5 million metric tonnes of liquefied natural gas yearly to a Japanese consortium due to a 2-year delay in Woodside's Browse project.

The Australian share market has started 2014 on the right note, closing higher by 0.3 per cent, following a 15 per cent annual gain in 2013.

The Australian share market is trading higher on the first trading day of 2014, gaining half of one per cent in the early session albeit on low trading volumes.

If history is to be any sort of guide then January, and specifically today, should be a good one to be long on global indices and risk assets in general.

In US economic news, S&P Case Shiller composite house price index rose by 1% in October against expectations of a 0.8% rise. Compared to a year earlier house prices were up 13.6%.