James Kong

The Australian share market closed higher on Wednesday, led by gains in the mining sector.

The Australian share market notched up a second session of wins today, with the All Ordinaries Index (XAO) rising 10pts or 0.2pct to 4428.7.

The Australian Dollar has opened higher after the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) said the next rate movement was all but dependent on official inflation data due next week.

US housing starts fell by 5.0pct to a 549,000 annual rate in June, below forecasts centred on a result near 580,000. But permits actually rose 2.1pct to 586,000 - above expectations.

U.S. stocks staged a strong mid day rally Tuesday to finish in positive territory for the second day in a row, shaking off deep losses as optimism grew ahead of a fresh wave of bank earnings and guidance from the Federal Reserve.

he Aussie sprung to life either side of the Reserve Bank release of the July board meeting minutes moving to an intraday high of 0.8745 before slipping back towards US87 cents.

On Wall St overnight, US stocks gained after an early slide amid speculation the Federal Reserve will take further steps to stimulate the economy. Treasuries pared gains and higher oil and copper prices helped lift the commodity players.

The Australian share market closed higher on Tuesday, boosted by some positive commentary from Australia's central bank and a lift in the Shanghai bourse. Major mining stocks led the gains on the local bourse.

The Australian share market posted solid gains today, recovering much of yesterday's losses, on the back of a positive lead from Wall Street and suggestions US markets will open strongly again tonight.

In Asia, regional markets are mostly higher this Tuesday, taking their leads from gains on Wall St. However, the Nikkei 225 is lower, down 1% with technology names under pressure following the disappointing revenue numbers from Texas Instruments and IBM.

A strong rally in Shanghai has prompted a surge in the Australia share market this afternoon.

The Australian share market is making modest gains in early trade, on the back of a positive lead from Wall Street. The All Ordinaries Index (XAO) is up 11.8pts or 0.3pct to 4384.5.

The Australian stock market opened slightly higher today, led by the overnight US market.

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The AUD has opened fairly unchanged this morning currently trading around USD0.8690. The AUD did strengthen during the offshore session before it fell victim to profit taking and some risk averse trading.

U.S. stocks notched modest gains Monday as investors sifted through mixed earnings and a weak index of housing sentiment to pin their hopes on strong quarterly reports later this week.

On Wall St overnight, stocks closed with modest gains after upbeat earnings from companies including Halliburton outweighed weaker homebuilding data.

The US National Homebuilders Association housing sentiment index eased from +16 to a 15-month low of +14 in July.

The Australian Dollar opens marginally higher against the greenback this morning at 0.8675.

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On Wall St, US markets slumped during Friday evening's session as a report showed consumer sentiment had dropped to its lowest level in a nearly a year and earnings reports disappointed market expectations.

U.S. stocks face a volatile week with a torrent of earnings due, facing up against concern about the economy's underlying strength.

US consumer sentiment fell from 76.0 to 66.5 in July, well below expectations of a result near 74.5.

The Australian Dollar once again retreated during Friday evening's trade as concerns about the global economic recovery emerged and equity markets headed down in Europe and the US.

The Aussie dollar held onto support around 0.8750 in early offshore trade rallying back above the 88 cent handle on the back of gains in EUR/USD.

The Australian share market pulled back once again today only a little with the S&P/ASX 200 index easing by 0.40pct. The market finished around 0.5pct lower this week.

The local market lacked guidance today due to mixed data from overseas markets overnight.

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The AUD has opened slightly stronger this morning as ongoing concerns about the recovery in the US economy weakened the USD.