Lawrence Villamar

Financial markets had another volatile night with equity markets opening quite strong before weakening, with investors still on edge and jumping on every headline and rumour.

AUD/USD continues to trade within the symmetrical triangle and traders will be waiting for a break in either direction for new trades. The bias looks to be building on to the long side, with a break of 1.0600 setting up a move back toward the all-time highs.

New claims for unemployment insurance in the US rose by 5,000 to 417,000 in the latest week, above forecasts for a result near 405,000.

U.S. stocks dropped Thursday after three days of sharp gains as Warren Buffett's $5 billion investment in Bank of America failed to stoke investors' appetite for risk ahead of Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's speech Friday.

The ongoing uncertainty in financial markets has continued to keep a lid on the Australian Dollar over the past 24 hours.

The AUD has opened little changed from yesterday as markets remain wary ahead of this Friday’s speech from Ben Bernanke in Jackson Hole.

The Aussie’s in a tight spot at the moment with no clear direction as it continues to consolidate between 1.0440 on the downside and 1.0540 on the upside. With the moving averages distinctly flat, the market will be waiting for a break out of the range before taking new positions.

US durable goods orders rose by 4.0pct in July, well ahead of forecasts for 2.0pct gain. Excluding transport, orders were up for the third straight month, rising by 0.7pct. And US home prices rose by 0.9pct in June after a 0.4pct lift in May according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency.

A move away from riskier assets yesterday meant that the Australian Dollar was unlikely to keep recent highs above 1.0500.

U.S. stocks notched a third straight day of gains Wednesday as an upbeat durable goods report set a positive tone while investors await Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's highly anticipated speech later this week.

The Australian Dollar has opened this morning’s session half a US Cent higher on the back of a good night in overseas stock markets and healthy economic data out of China.

The Aussie broke above 1.0480 overnight and that sets up a move to 1.0600. The overnight strength in equities has also been a positive for the AUD/USD. Any pullback to 1.0480 is likely to be seen as buyable. A break above 1.0600 will be seen as a major continuation of the long term bull market.

US new home sales fell by 0.7pct to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 298,000 units - the lowest reading since February. In the 12 months to July new home sales rose by 6.8pct.

Early yesterday the Aussie looked set for another uneventful day however it was soon to prove us wrong. After settling at a morning low of 1.0390 it soon shot above the 1.0400 handle as it was announced Chinese Manufacturing PMI, although still contractionary, was much better than feared.

U.S. stocks surged Tuesday as another dose of bleak economic data raised hopes that the Federal Reserve will take additional measures to stimulate the economy.

Urban Outfitters was named respondent to a suit brought by the parents of American fashion model Hailey Clauson. The suit against Urban Outfitters is grounded on photograph of the 16-years old model showing her in a sexually suggestive pose which appeared on a tee shirt.

The share of US home loans overdue by 30 days rose to 3.46 percent of all mortgages in the second quarter, up from 3.35 percent in the first quarter, according to a report from the Mortgage Bankers Association.

The Australian Dollar has established itself in range-bound trade early this week, a result of the hesitation market participants are showing in the lead up to the much talked about Jackson Hole summit later this week

U.S. stocks registered slim gains Monday in another choppy session as bargain hunting investors scrounged for buying opportunities after four straight weeks of sharp losses.

Volatility remained the order of the day on Friday, as major equity markets all moved lower, which kept the AUD under selling pressure.

The Aussie has started the new week on a negative foot and now appears to be heading back to support at 1.0320. While the bias remains negative, traders will be watching for a bounce around 1.0320. A break below this level is likely to see further selling.

The Spanish Government has announced that it will temporarily cut the sales tax on new house purchases in order to boost activity in the construction sector.

The Australian Dollar appeared to have tired during the Asian session on Friday, consolidating in range-bound trade between 1.0320 and 1.0380.

U.S. stocks closed lower Friday and notched their fourth straight losing week, as investors continued worrying about a potential global recession and the health of the European banking system.

Overnight saw equity markets fall and the AUD followed, trading down to USD1.0350 as once again investors’ concerns over the European debt issues took centre stage.

The sharp selldown overnight has switched the bias to bearish on the AUD/USD and traders will now be looking to participate on the downside. While key resistance is seen at 1.0600, traders will view any move to 1.0450 as a new selling opportunity.

US consumer prices rose by a surprising 0.5pct in July. Over the year the headline measure rose by 3.6pct largely due to the sharp rebound in gasoline prices.

The Australian Dollar drifted lower yesterday falling from a two-week high against its US Counterpart. As Asian Markets remained soft, equities, oil and copper also drifted lower dampening demand for the commodities based Currency.

Asian stock markets ended lower Thursday as worries about the global economic outlook trumped the bargain appeal. Japan's Nikkei Stock Average fell 1.3% to 8943.76, its lowest finish since March 15.