James Kong

Wall Street continues to move steadily higher. Yesterday, the NASDAQ Composite closed higher by 57.54 points, gaining 2.10% on the day to close at 2802.51 points.

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Across Asia, regional markets are mainly higher led by a strong performance from bank stocks which are advancing in line with US leads.

Overnight, US markets posted convincing gains on the back of better-than-expected earnings from Citigroup and a subsiding of fears over a foreclosure crisis, with financial stocks leading the market higher.

The market failed to find any inspiration today. A mixed lead from Wall Street and softer commodities markets saw investors retreat at the open. The market made a second dip around 1pm AEDT - coinciding with a fall in the Dow futures and a weaker Hang Seng.

On Wall Street overnight, US stocks staged a late session rally to pare earlier losses following a weaker-than-expected jobless claims report and concerns over the foreclosure practices of major banks.

The Australian Dollar traded to another new high overnight of USD0.9990 before falling victim to some profit taking, with the currency pair back to around USD0.9900 this morning.

US producer prices rose by 0.4pct in September, above expectations for a 0.2pct gain. But the core rate rose just 0.1pct, in line with expectations.

U.S. stocks dropped Thursday, dragged lower by financial shares as investors' concerns ramped higher regarding banks' foreclosure practices.

The Aussie came within a whisker of parity during overnight trade hitting a high of 0.9993, its highest level against the US Dollar since the currency floated in 1983.

The Australian share market rode the updraft of the record breaking Australian dollar today. A global flood of money and subsequent short squeeze have combined to push the market to within a whisker of its highest level in five months.

Across Asia, regional markets are all firmer this afternoon as global confidence continues to improve on expectations the Federal Reserve will pump more money into the ailing US economy.

The AUD rallied to a fresh post-float high overnight of USD0.9937. It now seems to be a case of when, rather than if, the AUD will break parity.

US export prices rose by 0.6pct in September while import prices fell 0.3pct. The lift in export prices exceeded forecasts of a 0.2pct gain while import prices largely met forecasts.

Strong earnings from J.P. Morgan and Intel helped lift the broader market even as the two companies stumbled, putting U.S. stocks on pace for a fourth straight day of gains.

The Australian Dollar opens higher against the greenback today at 0.9900 after hitting a post-1983 float high of 0.9936 during brisk overnight trade.

The Australian share market fell out of bed today, in line with the Asian region, all sold off hard despite a lack of obvious triggers.

Across Asia, regional markets were mostly lower following flat US leads where trading volumes were very light due to the Columbus Day holiday.

China has lifted reserve requirements for six large commercial banks in order to slow the pace of the economy. The 50-basis point lift in reserve requirements to 17.5 percent is a temporary measure, expected to be in place for just two months.

U.S. stocks turned lower ahead of the close of Monday's regular session, as industrial stocks lost ground. The Dow Jones Industrial Average recently fell 7 points to 11,000 and the S&P 500 Index fell 1 point to 1,164.

The Aussie''s parity push paused during local trade yesterday after the release of domestic home lending data.

In overnight trade in the US, the major indices finished largely unchanged, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbing back above the 11,000 point level after falling early in very thin Columbus Day trade and ahead of a busy week of Q3 earnings.

The offshore session overnight was a bit of a non-event. Volumes were also down on Wall Street given the Columbus Day public holiday. The small amount of movement came from a lift in the US dollar Index. This contributed to a fall in both the price of copper and of oil.

The recent rally in the AUD continued overnight with the local unit breaching USD0.9700 to record its highest level since July 2008.

US mortgage applications fell by 0.8pct in the past week - marking the fourth straight week of declines. However the MBA purchase index (a early indicator of home sales) rose 2.4pct.

Stocks stumbled modestly as declines in the more economically sensitive materials and financial sectors offset a rise in oil prices and energy stocks.

Early yesterday it appeared as though we were in for another quiet Asian session with the AUD/USD sitting contently within a 25 pip range for the majority of the day.