Chris Thompson's update for 25 November 2009.

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Across the world markets appeared stronger overnight, with the US Dow Jones rising 1.3% and the S&P rising 0.9%. All major European markets also registered gains of around 2%. In the US, there is some expectation that interest rates might remain near zero until late 2010.

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On Friday stocks were down in Europe for the fourth straight day. This followed in the US where the Dow closed down 0.1% and the S&P down 0.3%. For the week the Dow rose 1.5%, the S&P dropped 0.2%. The AUD is sitting at US 91.5 cents.

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Chris Thompson's 20 November 2009 update.

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Chris Thompson's 19 November 2009 update.

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Chris Thompson's 18 November 2009 update.

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Another strong session overnight - the Dow was up 133 points or 1.3%. The S&P 500, 1.4% and the NASDAQ up 1.3%. Not surprisingly, the Australian dollar is strong against the US dollar, up another half a cent. We should be in for a very strong start to our market, the SPI Futures point that way; up 49 points.

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Dr Caton's update for 16 November : The US market up for the day, up for the week, and Australia can expect to be off to a good start on Monday morning.

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Chris caton markets update

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It was a good day but not a hugely busy session overnight across global markets. Beginning in the UK, the FTSE was up around .7% and the German DAX up 1%. In the US, shortly before close the Dow was up 0.4% (and that's four days in a row above the magical 10,000 mark) and the S&P was up 0.5% and flirting with the 1100 level.

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This market report comes to you about ten minutes before the close in the US as I have a school run to make. Overall it was a non-descript night, with not much movement in European markets (UK FTSE and German DAX both increased by 0.2%) and US markets remaining flat. These figures might have changed at the final close, but not by much.

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It was a great night all round, which shouldn't have been a surprise after the G20 announcement to continue stimulus and do whatever is necessary to keep growth moving. In Europe the FTSE was up more than 1% and in the US the Dow was up around 2% and S&P 2.2%. Both US indices are at highs for this current market upswing. The Australian market should kick on again from here.

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The US rounded out a good week with a fairly flat day. The Dow was up 0.2% and the S&P up 0.3%. For the week both were up more than 3.0%. The US had a very significant piece of news to deal with on Friday, the monthly employment report. The job loss was close to expectations at 190,00 jobs. The unemployment rate for September was 9.8%, and for October is 10.2%. It is the highest unemployment rate in the US since April 1983. The Australian labour market report comes out on Thursday which will be a key input in to the decision on whether or not to raise interest rates.

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Beginning in Europe the share markets rose with the FTSE up 0.3% and the German market up 0.7%. The US opened strongly, and continued up all day with the preliminary close numbers the Dow listed up 2.1% and the S&P up 1.9%. Jobless claims dropped again, and productivity growth in the non-farm business sector for the third quarter of the year grew at an annual rate of 9.5% which is phenomenal. The AUD sits around US 91 cents.

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It was a good night in Europe with the FTSE up 1.4% and the German market up 1.7%. The US market flattered to deceive last night with the bears taking control in the last hour. The Dow finished up 0.4% and the S&P up 0.2%. The non manufacturing ISM fell for the month, and the statement from the FOMC re-affirmed to keep short term interest rates low for a long period of time. The Australian market will open up.

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Beginning in Europe, the news wasn't positive with more murmurs of a UK bank bailout pushing the market down 1.4%, and the German DAX falling by 1.3%. In the US it was another mixed session with the Dow Jones slighty down (0.02%) and the S&P slightly up (0.02%). I think that's akin to an each way bet in racing lingo, if horses are still your thing. The Australian market should open mixed.

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Overnight in Europe the FTSE closed up 1.2%, and the German DAX was up by 0.3%. In the US, it was an interesting session of conflicting forces. There were two pieces of noticeably good economic news ? construction spending rose by more than expected in the month of September ? it was up by eight-tenths of a percent; and as a result of that, it is likely that the Q3 GDP figure that we got last week would be revised up. The other thing that came in strongly was the so-called USM Manufacturing Index.

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It was a big down day, the biggest in four months. The Dow finished down 2.5% and the S&P down 2.8%. For the week the Dow was down 2.7% and the S&P down 4%. For the month the Dow stayed flat, while the S&P fell by 2%. The AUD is sitting just below US 90 cents.

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It was a good night. In the US the Dow was up 2.1%, the S&P up 2.3% and the NASDAQ up 1.8%. US GDP numbers signalled a 3.5% rise for the quarter ahead of expectations. US employment numbers showed further signs that unemployment may be beginning to peak. In Europe all the major markets closed higher more than 1%. The AUD is back up towards US 92 cents.

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It was not a good day for risk assets. In the US the Dow closed 1.2% lower, the S&P and NASDAQ closed down 1.9% and 2.7% respectively. In Europe all markets closed more that 2% lower. Commodities are lower across the board. The AUD is now back below US 90 cents.

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The news from markets over night was mixed. In the US the Dow was up .1%, and the S&P finished down .3% and NASDAQ down 1.2%. There was an unexpected fall in consumer confidence numbers which fell for the second month in a row. The AUD is sitting at US 91.6 cents.

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There were small gains made in European markets. The FTSE opened up .2% and the Dax finished up .4%. The US had it's second down day. At the end of the session the Dow was down 1.1% and the S&P down 1.2%. The AUD came down and is now sitting at US 91.5 cents.

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The US market continued it's topsy turby week with the market down for the day. The Dow fell by 1.1% and the S&P by 1.2%. For the week the Dow finished down .2% and the S&P .7%. The earnings that were released Microsoft and Amazon came in on the upside. The economic news that was released was existing home sales for the month of September which came in above expectations. The FTSE was up .7% and the Dax down .4%. The Australian market will open with a weak start for the week.

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In Europe the market fell with the FTSE down by 1.1% and the German market down by 1.2%. The US, on the other hand, had a good night; and at the end of that, the Dow was up by 1.3%, and the S&P was up by 1.1%. The movement this week demonstrates, just my view, that you just can't afford to be out of this market at the moment. The AUD is currently sitting at US 92.7 cents.

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Starting in Europe, the British and German markets both closed down overnight and this weakness translated through to the US market. Poorer than expected housing figures (specifically a fall in housing permit starts) out of the US also contributed to a soft day of trading, with the Dow and S&P slipping slightly. On the flipside, earnings numbers continue to come in strongly.

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Starting in Europe, the British and German markets both closed down overnight and this weakness translated through to the US market. Poorer than expected housing figures (specifically a fall in housing permit starts) out of the US also contributed to a soft day of trading, with the Dow and S&P slipping slightly. On the flipside, earnings numbers continue to come in strongly.

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It was another good session overnight, with the Dow Jones up 1% (and breaking the 10,000 barrier again) and the S&P 500 up around 1% also. 25 of 30 stocks in the Dow Jones rose overnight and the market was largely driven by favourable earnings reports. Around 135 companies are due to report this week. So far, so good.

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A down day but an up week for international markets and no huge lead for the Australian market. Needless to say with the US market off on Friday, the Australian dollar fell, although it still sits at a very strong 91.5 cents.

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Well yet again, US markets were up; the Dow by 47 points, or 0.5%, and the S&P by 0.4%. The Nasdaq, though, was flat; while European markets did take a breather, and retraced somewhat. The Australian dollar has maintained its level of over 92 US cents, boosted by Glen Stevens' comments yesterday.

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It was a good night in the US. At the end of it, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 1.5% and the S&P was up 1.8%. The good night in the US has unsurprisingly driven the Australian dollar higher yet again, and we now sit at an extraordinary 91.5 cents.

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I'm on the road today and away from the hard numbers but it doesn't look like I'm missing much of the market activity in the US. The Dow closed reasonably flat, with a small 0.2% drop. That's nothing significant. Closer to home, the AUD is buying US0.905 cents. The Australian market won't be overly affected by the US today.

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It was a quiet session overnight, as it was a federal government holiday in the US. The market finished up slightly with the Dow up .2%, and the S&P up .4%. The AUD is sitting at US90.6 cents.

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The US market had a good day, to finish a good week. By the close of the session, the Dow was up by eight-tenths of a percent and the S&P by six-tenths; and that meant that the Dow rose by 4% for the week and the S&P by 4.5%. The gain in the US market on Friday night should get the Australian market off to a good start today.

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In Europe, markets were mostly up by more than 1%. In the US, the Dow was up 0.6%, the S&P was up 0.8%, and the NASDAQ 0.6%. Good news last night came on the economic front in the US, where initial jobless claims were lower than forecasted. The market had forecasted a number of 540,000, but the actual number was 521,000. The US dollar fell to its lowest value in over a year. The AUD dollar is now trading at well over US 90 cents. The weaker dollar also holds commodity markets; oil is back over $71 a barrel, and gold has continued its surge higher, now trading at $1,051 an ounce.

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The Dow Jones index barely moved by the end of the day, down 6 points although it was a negative territory all day. The S&P 500 and NASDAQ were slightly firmer rising by 0.3%.

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The Dow was up 132 points or 1.4%. The S&P also 1.4% and the NASDAQ 1.7%. In Europe, markets were even higher, with all major indices up well over 2%. The rise last night, coupled with the big increase of the day before, translates into the biggest two day increase in almost three months.

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US shares rebounded overnight after four straight days of losses, with the S&P 500 Index finishing up by 1.5% and the Dow up a broadly similar amount. This will get the Australian market off to a good start today; our Futures index up more than 8% already.

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The US market fell again. This was its sixth fall in seven days ? it wasn?t a huge fall; the Dow finished down by two-tenths of a percent, and the S&P down by 0.5%. The S&P, however, is still more than 50% above its early March low.

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It was a poor start for the fourth quarter in the US , with the Dow finishing down 2.1% and the S&P down by 2.6%. This was the worst % drop in the market for three months and has again brought questions to about the strength of the recovery. There were three pieces of economic driving this: Ben Benake spoke on the subject of financial regulation, the ISM index of manufacturing fell in September, and jobless claims rose significantly, now standing at 505,100.

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The final day of trade for the end of the month and the end of a quarter ended slightly down for the day after a key manufacturing index showing a continued contraction in manufacturing across the mid-west of America. It was a different story for the month and quarter though. The Dow closed the month up 2.3%, S&P up 3.6%. Quarterly, the gains were around 15%.

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The FTSE in England was down by just a tenth of a percent, and the DAX in Frankfurt was down by four-tenths. By the close of the session, the Dow Jones industrial average was down five-tenths of a percent and the S&P 500 was down by two-tenths.

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After three down days, Wall Street bounced back in a big way pulling back most of the losses from late last week. Most of the gains came on the back of increased Merger and Acquisitions talk. Europe was also strong and we can expect a reasonable day on the Australian market.

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It was another down day in the US, the third in a row. The Dow was down by four-tenths for the session, and the S&P 500 by six-tenths. For the week, the Dow fell by 1.6%, and the S&P Index a bit more than 2%.

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The US had it's second consecutive down night. The Dow fell .4% and the S&P down 1%. This is the worst two day fall in three months. There was a surprising fall in existing home sales which backed up by 2.7% for the month of August. The fall in the US will get the Australian market off to a poor start today. The AUD stands at US 86.5 cents.

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A topsy-turvy night in US with mixed market reaction to Fed's latest meeting: US economy in better shape.Tick. Buy more mortgage securities.Tick. No clear exit strategy. Cross. End result? Indices finished down around 1%.

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Another good session overnight with the Dow Jones 0.5% and S&P 500 Index up 0.7%, driven by feelgood feeling of economic recovery. The consistency of recent growth makes it a challenge to keep these daily updates interesting, but that's a good problem to have.

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It was a quiet session. At the end of it, the Dow Jones average was down four-tenths of a percent, and the S&P 500 was down by 0.3%. Nothing too much to report here. Essentially, the market was just simply taking a breather after its more than 2% rise last week.

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The US market continues to rise. The market finished a relatively good week with another up day. For the week all major index were up close to 2%. It was a very data intensive week, although not much economic data is expected to be released this week. In AUD is sitting at US 86.8 cents.

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Overall it was a quiet night. European markets finished up, the FTSE .8% and the German market .5%. In the US the Dow finished down .1% and the S&P down .3%. Housing starts increased again in the month of August, and jobless claims fell in the most recent week. The AUD is sitting above US 87 cents.

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The Dow finished the session up by six-tenths of a percent, and the S&P 500 Index up by three-tenths of a percent. So that will almost certainly get us off to a positive start today.

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Another reasonably solid trading session overnight with the Dow Jones, S&P 500 indices up and retail trade, the Empire State Manufacturing Index and inventory sales in the US also moving higher. Ben Bernanke has suggested that 'technically' this recession is over. Technically, he may be right.

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The FTSE finished up slightly by 0.2%, and the German market down slightly. The Dow Jones index was up by 0.2% and the S&P 500 up by 0.6%.

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The Dow Jones Index for the session was down by 0.2%, and the S&P Index down by 0.1%. That left the S&P for the week up by about 2.6%, and the Dow up by about 1.7%.

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The Dow was up 80 points, or 0.8%; S&P 1%; and the NASDAQ 1.2%. In the US, the market was chaired by the weekly jobless claims number, which came in at 550,000, slightly lower than forecast by economists.

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It was a solid day for equities, racking up yet another tidy gain, the fourth in a row now. The Dow was up 50 points, or 0.5%, the S&P 0.8%, and the NASDAQ 1.1%. Earlier on, European markets were up by about 0.9%.

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In the US the Dow was up 56 points or .6%, while the S&P and NASDAQ were up by .9%. In Europe, markets were up by about .3%.

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The local market should open higher today after the US and most of the major Euro markets closed out last week higher. The exception was in Germany - the DAX fell around 1.4%. The Australian dollar has also continued its impressive gains against the US dollar, now sitting at around 85 US cents.

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After four successive down days the US equity market registered a positive move last night.The Dow finished up .7%, the S&P .9%, and the NASDAQ .8%. European markets were down slightly.

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Overseas markets down but not by very much, this was the fourth successive down down for the US. The Dow and S&P were both down 0.3%. September is convetionally the worst month for the US share market, not October as some believe, and is the olny month with a negative average return for the past 80 years.

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Another down night overseas but the Australian economy is looking up with the release of new figures from Treasury.

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Equity markets ended a very strong August slightly low last night, with fears of a pullback in the Chinese economy resurfacing. The Dow was down 48 points, or 0.5%; the S&P down 0.8%; and the NASDAQ down 1%.

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It was a quiet day to end out a quiet week in which overall the US market rose. On Friday the Dow fell back slightly by .4%, and the S&P fell back by .2%. There is a big week of data ahead in the US. The Australian economy continues to do surprisingly well, and there is chatter that interest rates could go up as early as October.

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The US market began lower than it had closed on Wednesday. The price of oil rose and that drove energy stocks higher, by the time it was all over the Dow finished up .4% and the S&P up .3%. Second quarter GDP was released. Jobless claims feel for the week. The AUD is currently sitting at US 82.9 cents.

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The US and Euro markets hardly moved for most of the day, despite data showing new home sales in the US jumped 9.6% for the month of July. The volatility predicted earlier in the week hasn't eventuated, but there's a growing feeling markets are now running a very taut line between unbridled optimism and a pull back to more conservative levels.

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Most equity markets rose again overnight as optimism continued that the global recession is ending. The Case-Shiller Index of House Prices reports a rise of 2.6% in the second quarter, the first quarterly increase since 2006. In our market SPI Futures are up again this morning by 16 points although the lower commodity prices could weigh on the market.

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Markets were strong again for the morning session but fell away in the afternoon, with the US closing flat and Euro markets ending 1% higher. The pullback was caused by a perspicacious view of the US financial sector and fears that there would be many more years of poor results ahead.

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It was another good session on Friday. In Europe all major indexes were up more than 2%. For the week in the US the Dow and S&P were up about 2%. Existing home sales rose by 7.2% in the month in July. The Australian market will open up.

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Markets continue to track an anything but a taut line this week, so far being two days down and two days up. Last night was an up night with the German, FTSE and US markets all closed higher. Jobless claims in the US rose, but new figures also showed manufacturing output is the strongest its been since 2007. Expect a reasonable day's trade on the Australian market.

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Markets were expected to struggle overnight after a big fall on Chinese market. News confirming oil stockpiles had dropped significantly (the biggest drop in 12 months) pushed oil prices, and the energy sector in general, higher and the market closed in positive territory. Falling oil stockpiles means the US is using more oil - a clear sign things are starting to get better.

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Markets got back about half of what they had lost from yesterday's ephemeral downturn, with the FTSE index and German market both climbing around 1% and the US Dow Jones and S&P Indices also showing similar progress. The turnaround appears to be a combination of a general feeling that markets had fallen too far in recent days (so a slight correction up) and some better economic news out of the US.

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It was a rough night. All the major European indexes finished down at least 2%. In the US the Dow was down 2% and the S&P down 2.4%. Although there was good economic news, the NAHB housing index was up to 18 in the month of August, which shows continuing stabilisation / recovery in the housing sector. The Empire State manufacturing index rose sharply and it's the highest it's been since November 2007.

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The Dow and S&P indices both finished lower on Friday, rounding out a week that ended pretty much where it began. New indicators also showed a slight fall in consumer confidence. This seesawing of sentiment and market progress suggests the recovery will continue to be prolix.

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It was a surprisingly good night in the US. The market wasn't up all that much, the Dow rose by .4%, and the S&P finished up .7%. The official retail sales figures for the month of July showed a fall of 0.1%. Jobless claims rose for the week. The Australian market should be off to a good start.

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The US had an impressive day with the Dow Jones up 1.3% and S&P 500 rising 1.2% and holding handily above 1000. Trading was restrained in the morning session before markets took an audacious leap higher in the afternoon following some positive news on interest rates and economic stabilisation.

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The markets pulled back a little overnight, with the US Dow Jones and S&P 500 indices trading around 1% lower. The main cause of this was a 3.5% fall in the financial sector. Despite the financial sector rallying around 35% in last month, some banking analysts have painted a glum outlook for the future. The pullback should flow through to the Australian market's financial stocks.

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A little more meandering from the US market overnight, with the S&P and Dow Jones both finishing lower at the end of Monday's trade. There wasn't much of anything happening, no economic news, not much movement and some pretty thin trading levels.

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In the US on Friday night, the Dow Jones and S&P Index both finished up little more than 1%, closing out the week around 2% up overall. The market took its cue from the July US labour market report, which was refreshingly good. That's not to say that the US didn't lose jobs, but the number of job losses was half what it was in June. Manufacturing also showed signs of improvement.

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It's starting to feel a little like 'Groundhog Week' this week, with the US market falling slightly again for the third day in a row. Across the Atlantic, the UK FTSE reversed this trend, climbing by almost 1%. Other major European markets remained reasonably stable.

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Overnight in the US the Dow finished down .4% and the S&P down slightly less. Factory orders for the month were up by .4%, a lot of the increase was price driven mainly because energy prices went up. In Australia, the labour market report is anticipated to show a further job loss of about 20,000 and the unemployment rate currently at 5.8% will go up. The AUD is sitting at US 84 cents.

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The US had a relatively quiet session with Dow and NASDAQ still hovering above the 1000 and 2000 and only adding slightly to the previous day's high. New figures also show pending home sales in the US are rising, which is another indicator that things are getting back on track.

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A very significant night in the US with the S&P 500 index closing above the 1000 point mark and the Nasdaq hitting the 2000 mark. Only five months ago on March 5, the S&P was sitting on 666 - it's risen significantly since then. The UK market was also bouyed by good earnings reports, with the financial sector setting the pace.

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Another night in which almost nothing happened but it was the best July in 20 years for the Dow Jones, and the best in 12 for the S&P which is up 46% from its early March low. It's almost certain the GDP in the United States will now grow - the recession in the United States is ending or has already ended.

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It was a great night in the US. The Dow was up .9% and the S&P up 1.2%. Earnings reports continued to come in strongly. There were good reports coming in from Motorola, MasterCard and General Electric. The AUD also caught the wave and now sits at US 82.5 cents.

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A late rally in the US helped close the gap on what was a pretty ordinary session overnight. Both the Dow and S&P finished lower, and European markets were only slightly in the black. Commodity prices also fell, with crude oil dropping 6%. On a slightly more positive note, the rate of decline in the US appears to have slowed, although we're a long way from signs of positive growth.

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A weak start in Europe and soft outlook for the futures market in US suggested the overnight session wasn't going to be great. In the end US markets closed only slightly down, with the Dow down 0.1% and the S&P 500 down 0.3%. The S&P 500 still up around 11% in the last two weeks. Case Schiller Index for house prices showed some improvement, although house prices in US in general are down for the year.

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US and European markets were flat overnight, with most of the major indices closing without much movement. Good news from the US is that new home sales rose by 11%, one more sign the US housing sector is stabilising. The Australian Dollar has pushed through the $US 0.82 mark and we can expect the Australian market to open higher today.

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The US had a strong week. On Friday the S&P and Dow finished up .3%. Both finished up more than 4% for the week. The AUD finished the week at US 81.7cents.

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It was a great night in the US. All major index's were up 2%. The NASDAQ has now been up for 12 days in a row, which is apparently the longest streak since 1992. Jobless claims have clearly peaked and turned, which is another piece of evidence that the US recession is ending.

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The extraordinary run in the US came to a halt last night after several successive nights of gains. The Dow fell .4% and the S&P closed close to flat. The news relating to home sales, particularly home prices for the month of June was quite good. That's one more sign of stabilisation in the housing sector in the US.

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Rises in European markets and in the US have continued to keep the economic glass half full instead of half empty. The Down finished 0.8% higher, climbing over the 8900 mark. Expect the Australian market to follow the trend.

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It was another strong night in the US with the Dow and S&P both up more than 1%. The US market closed at its highest level since early November last year. The S&P is now up more than 40% from its early March trough. A key contributor to this was the rise of the index of leading economic indicators for the third month in a row.

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While it was a quiet night, it was a strong week. The Dow, NASDAQ and S&P all finished up 7%-7.5%. One piece of very good economic news in the US was housing starts for the month of June rose. This is the first quarter in three years that there has been a rise is housing starts.

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It was another good night in the US. For the session the Dow finished up 1.1% and the S&P up .9%. This is mainly because Professor Nouriel Roubini has suggested that the worst is behind us and the recession will end this year. The AUD is sitting at US 80.5 cents.

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It was a great night in the US with the Dow finishing up 3.1%, the S&P up 3%. European markets were up by a similar amount. The AUD is now sitting above US 80.0 cents.

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Highlights in the US overnight were the release of the Goldman Sachs quarterly earnings which ended up being even better than expected, and very good retail sales figures. The Dow finished up .3%, the S&P .5%, and the NASDAQ .4%. European markets finished up 1%. The Australian market yesterday had the best day it has had in months.

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After four straight weeks of decline, last night the equity markets in the US and Europe were up. The Dow finished up 2.3%, the S&P 2.5%, and the NASDAQ 2.1%. The Australian market has followed this lead and opened higher this morning.

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The US had it's fourth down week in a row. For the week the Dow was down 1.6% and the S&P by 1.9%. The University of Michigan's measure of consumer confidence dropped quite considerably in the first half of July. The fall in confidence is owed by the fall in the share market, rising gasoline prices, and the June labour report.

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It was a positive night across all major markets, with markets in the UK, Germany and US all finishing higher. It's an early call, but maybe we're starting to see some real signs of confidence that a genuine recovery is gathering momentum.

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In the US the Dow finished up .2% and the S&P close to flat. This is driven by little economic information. In Australia the Labour Market report for the month of June is released at 11.30am, with the unemployment rate expected to rise.

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It was a weak trading session for the US, the Dow down 1.9% and the S&P down 2%. The Australian dollar right now trading close to 79 cents.

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It was a mixed night. In Europe the FTSE fell 1% and the German market fell 1.2%. In the US the Dow was up .5% and the S&P up .3%, while the NASDAQ fell .5%. The AUD is sitting at US 79.7 cents.

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Markets did not do well overnight. The UK FTSE finished down 2.5%, and the US Dow by a similar amount. The S&P was down 2.9%, it is now back below where is was on 31 December 2008. In the US the unemployment rate has gone up to 9.5%. There will be no market report on Monday, as the US market is closed on Friday 3 July 2009.

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Overnight the positive news began in Europe, with the FTSE up 2%. This was followed in the US with the Dow up .6% and S&P up .7%. In Australia the balance on goods and services report will be realised today at 11.30am, which should show deficit of $500m.

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The Dow was up by 1.1% and the S&P by 0.9%. European markets were also up, and the Australian dollar was trading at 80.7 cents.

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In the US the week closed with the Dow down by 1.2% and the S&P down by .3%. The week ahead will be a short week, as the US will be celebrating the 4th of July on the 3rd of July.

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The US had a good session overnight. The Dow, S&P, and NASDAQ were all up 2.1%. Australian markets will be off to a good start today, with the AUD rising back above US 80 cents.

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Overnight European markets all ended up in positive territory. In the US the Dow lost 23 points, and the S&P and NASDAQ were up 0.7% and 1.6%. The Australian market will open strong this morning.

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It was a fairly quiet night. In Europe the FTSE fell by .1%, and the German market was up .3%. In the US the Dow was down .2%, and the S&P up by .2%. The AUD is sitting at US 79.4 cents.

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Following on from a new report from the World Bank predicting that the global recession would be deeper than previously forecasted, global stocks and commodities fell back significantly. The bank is now estimating a contraction of 2.9% in 2009 for the global economy rather than it's earlier forecast of 1.7%. The Dow was down 2.4%, the S&P down by 3.1%, and the NASDAQ down 3.4%.

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There was not much movement in the US. The session finished with the Dow down by .2% and the S&P up by .3%. There was no economic news driving this result. For the week the Dow finished down 3% and was the S&P was down by 2.6%. This is the first losing week in 5 weeks.

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In Europe the FTSE and the German markets were up, that lead was followed in the US where the Dow and the S&P finished up by .75%. The Australian market will open up, with the AUD sitting at US 79.9 cents.

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There is very little to report from the US markets overnight.The Dow and the S&P finished down .1%. The CPI results for the month of May showed the headline index and the core index up by 0.1%. The Australian market is expected to open down today for the fourth consecutive day.

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The US market fell again, the Dow and the S&P finished down by 1.3%. There is an emerging view that the market has come a long way in a short period of time, with the S&P still sitting 35% up from it's early March low.

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It was a quiet end to a quiet week with the Dow finishing up .4% and the S&P up by .6%. There is some evidence that consumer confidence is coming back. There will be some important economic news released in the US market this week for the month of May, with housing starts likely to show a gain, and industrial production is still falling. The AUD finished on Friday at US 81.2 cents.

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It was a quiet end to a quiet week with the Dow finishing up .4% and the S&P up by .6%. There is some evidence that consumer confidence is coming back. There will be some important economic news released in the US market this week for the month of May, with housing starts likely to show a gain, and industrial production is still falling. The AUD finished on Friday at US 81.2 cents.

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International markets we up overnight. The FTSE was up by .5% and the German market up 1%. The Dow finished up .4% and the S&P by .6%. A good piece of economic news shows the first rise in retail sales since January, although this could be because of the rise in gasoline prices. Due to commodity prices rising the AUD is gaining value, and is sitting at US 81.9 cents.

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The European markets had a good night. The FTSE was up by .7% and the German market up over 1%. That lead was not followed in the US, the Dow finished down by -.3% and the S&P by -.4%. The AUD is sitting at US 80.2 cents. The Labour market report for the month of May is released today, with the unemployment rate expected to rise.

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There was not much movement in the US market overnight. The Dow finished almost unchanged and the S&P up by .4%. Commodity prices rose overnight which will get the Australian market off to a good start. The Australian dollar is sitting at US 80.2 cents.

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Economic news out of the US on Friday showed a fall in jobs of 345,000 per month, the smallest drop since September 2008. The US stock market also continued its fightback with 1 point gain in the Dow Jones. The Australian dollar is back to under US 80 cents and commodity prices are under pressure.

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The US had yet another good trading session, with the Dow up 0.9% and the S&P 500 Index up 1.2% on the night.

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US markets had a quiet night, with the Dow and S&P finishing up 0.02%. There was more favourable economic news out of the US, with pending home sales data showing a steady climb across the month.

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It was another good night on Wall Street with the Dow up close to 3% or around about 250 points and the NASDAQ also up close to 3%.

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It was another good night in the US, with markets recording their third consecutive day of positive growth. The S&P 500 finished up 1.4% for the week, bolstered by improved data on US GDP figures - now revised down from -6.1% to -5.7% for the year.

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US markets continued their zig zag again overnight, with the Dow Jones up 1.3% and S&P up 1.5%. That means markets were up Tuesday, down Wednesday and up again Thursday. Anyone for a guess what will happen overnight tonight?

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US markets reflected almost a mirror image of the previous day's trading, with the Dow and S&P both falling around 2%. This time the falls were less about economic news and more about 10 year bond and interest rates, which have spiked sharply in the past few days.

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International markets were flooded in a sea of green figures overnight, with the UK, US and European markets all climbing higher after the long weekend. US consumer confidence is also on the rise, back to September 2008 levels. More evidence that we're getting closer to the start of the end of the recession in the US?

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US markets eased into the Memorial Day long weekend with a slow finish to the week. In a scorecard only Richie Benaud would enjoy, the Dow finished down .2%, the NASDAQ finished down .2% and the S&P finished down .2%. That's 2,2,2.

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The UK's FTSE fell heavily overnight after the S&P ratings agency took the unusual step of putting the Government's credit rating on 'watch'. Not surprisingly, the US also softened, with the Dow Jones falling 1.5%. New figures in the US show that jobless claims have increased, mainly caused by the Chrysler bankruptcy. Commodity prices also weakened.

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A little softness has crept into US markets, with the Dow down again - only 0.6%. Concerns were based on rhetoric about the recovery from the Federal Reserve, which is yet to buy into the 'all is well' argument. Australian markets shouldn't follow the US down, mainly because commodity prices - gold, oil in particular - rising strongly overnight.

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European markets closed higher overnight but US markets fell - only slightly. The economic news was also mixed, with reports that commercial property values have further to fall, and US housing starts are now at an all time low. Bearing in mind this weak news, it's a surprise US markets didn't fall further.

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The US had a good night, closing 3% higher on stronger news about housing. Victory for the Congress party in India led to a 17% increase in the Indian market, and European markets also did well, with the FTSE up by more than 2% and the DAX up by 2%. The Australian market is off to a good start this morning and the Australian dollar is up to US 76.5 cents.

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Friday was another soft night for the US markets. The Dow fell by .8% and the S&P down by 1.1%. These are relatively small movements. The S&P fell by 5% last week, after having risen by 6% the week before. US CPI for April showed a flat result, the core rate rounded up to 0.3% rather than 0.2%. Most of this was due to an increase in tax on tobacco. The Australian dollar now sits just below US 75 cents.

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The US market rose overnight. The Dow was up by .6% of a percent and the S&P up by 1%, which is now up 32% from the early March low. No particular economic news driving this. Unemployment insurance is up by 36,000, a lot of this will reflect the close down of auto plants due to the Chrysler bankruptcy. The Australian dollar is back up to US 76 cents.

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European and US markets were both down overnight, with Dow falling by around 2%. As I suggested in my Monday report, the falls are probably due to profit-taking, which shouldn't be surprising given how far the market has come in such a short period of time. The Australian market should open lower, with the Australian dollar hovering around US 75 cents.

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The session in the US market was reasonably un-eventful. The market closed fairly close to flat. The DOW was up by .6%, mainly because investors bought defensive stocks, and the S&P finished down slightly. Figures show the US had an increase in trade deficit in the month of March, it has improved enormously in recent months. The Australian budget was released last night. We have a big deficit this year, with a stimulatory budget in the early years to fight the recession.

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Overnight London was down by .6% of a percent, Germany was down by 1%, France down by 1.9%. The losses continued in the US with the DOW down by 1.8%, S&P down by 2.2%. The Australian market is also off to a soft start, opening lower. The Australian Budget is released at 7.30pm tonight, and it looks as if the deficit will be around $58b. Markets have come a long way in such a short period of time.

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US markets had another good session, for the night the Dow finished up by 2% and S&P by 2.4%. For the week the Dow was up by 4.4% and the S&P by 5.9%, and that is the 8th up week in the past 9 and relative to its early March low the S&P index is now up more than 37%. New economic data also suggests that we are getting closer to the beginning of the end of the recession.

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US markets fell overnight, wiping out the gains of the previous day. The Dow fell 1.2%, the S&P 500 was down 1.3% and more importantly, the NASDAQ was also down 2.4%. There was no obvious reason for the falls and no obvious cause for alarm.

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It was another solid day of trading overnight in the US, with the Dow up 1.2% and the S&P 500 up 1.7%. Much of this activity was attributed to new data showing that job losses in the US for the month of April hit 490,000 - a big number but not as big as expected.

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US market shortly before the close down slightly, nothing too much to worry about in either direction, and the Australian dollar back above 74 cents around about 74.2.

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Signs of a recovery continue in the US, with the overnight gains (Dow Jones up 2.5%, S&P 500 up more than 3.0%) pushing US markets to their highest point for the year. European markets are also in the green and this momentum should also translate onto the Australian market.

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US markets closed the week up 1.5%, with the S&P Index now sitting almost 30% above its low in early March - that should translate into a good day on Australian markets. There is a lot of data about the Australian economy this week, including retail trade, building approvals and perhaps most importantly our labour market information for the month of April.

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Nothing much happened in US markets overnight, with the Dow off just 0.2% and the S&P off 0.1%. For the month of April the S&P rose by 9.4% and that is its biggest rise for nine years.

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The Australian market should get off to a good start today following more positive news out of the US. The Dow Jones closed Thursday's session up 1.9% and the S&P 500 finished 2.0% higher.

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The overnight action in the US was minimal with markets doing very little. The pause creates an opportunity to look at some other US economic indicators that might offer a ray of hope: the Case-Shiller Home Price Index shows the decline in house prices is slowing, while there are signs that US consumer confidence is improving.

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US markets were down overnight, with the Dow Jones falling 0.6% and the S&P 500 by 1%. This time there was a new reason for the downturn: swine flu. Sick pigs pulled airline stocks, travel companies and world growth expectations lower. When you consider how quickly the 'swine flu' story has emerged, and how severe it could be, the fall in US market was surprisingly small.

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After finishing higher for six consecutive weeks - a feat not seen since 1938 - the US market closed last week slightly lower. This week, expect a little more fluctuation following the release of estimates of GDP growth for the first quarter of 2009.

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Europe down - FTSE down 0.3% and DAX 1% - but a reasonably firm US market - Dow up by 0.9% and the S&P by around 1%. - should get us off to a good start today.

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Bank shares rallied strongly overnight to reverse some of the falls of the day before, in response to comments by the US Treatury Secretary that most of the banks were well capitalised.

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I think we'll need to fasten our seatbelts for our market today. The SPI Futures are 71 points lower indicating that way.

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Markets are in somewhat of a holding pattern as they await some significant market indicators. On Friday night the Dow hung on to its 6 point gain and the S&P was up 0.5%.

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Better than expected earnings from JP Morgan and stability in employment and housing saw the Dow finish up 1.1% and the S&P up 1.6%.

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US markets took half a step forward with good stock news, notably Proctor and Gamble are increasing dividends by 10%. The Dow was up 1.4% and the S&P was up 1%.

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Some financial sector profit taking and new economic information has pushed US markets one step back after its two steps forward. The Dow fell 1.7% and the S&P fell 2%.

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Tale of two halves for the US market. On Thursday the Dow Jones (3.1%) and S&P (3.8%) were driven up by Wells Fargo's earnings announcement, while Monday was close to uneventful.

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A quiet night overseas but the SPI Futures Index is up about 45 points which suggests we will open more strongly today.

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The fall in the US market doesn't auger well for the Australian market. The SPI Futures Index is down more than a point and a half, more than a per cent and a half. So it looks like we will open lower.

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A not-so-bad analyst report and rumour of a takeover break down get the credit for the US market falling nearly 2% before rallying to close around half a percent.

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US markets stayed flat for most of Friday, but did finish slightly higher to close the week up 3%. The S&P 500 Index is now up around 25% from its low point one month ago.

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Investors piled back into the market overnight, and the hard numbers are starting to add up. In the US the Dow (2.8%), S&P 500 (2.9%) and NASDAQ (3.3%) all closed higher. It was the same story in Europe, with the German DAX (6%), France's CAC (5.4) and the FTSE (4.5%) also recording strong gains.

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A good night all round for international markets, with Europe up 1%. In the US the Dow Jones (2%) and S&P 500 (1.7%) both gained on economic news that was "bad, but not as bad as expected".

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Europe had a good night with most major indexes up. This was followed on in New York which regained some of the ground lost the previous day. For the month of March the DOW was up by 7.7% and that is the best monthly result for 6 years.

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Concerns about the US automotive sector were renewed after more talk of a GM bail-out package. The Dow Jones fell 3.3%, S&P fell 3.5% and European markets fell 3% to 5%.

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US markets closed down around 2.0% on Friday but remained up around 6.0% for the week and 20.6% since March 9th. It looks like the 'two steps forward, one step back' approach might continue for a while yet.

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The rally goes on in the US overnight, which means the S&P 500 is looking at its strongest month since 1974.

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A reasonably flat day on US markets changed in the last 10 minutes of trading: the Dow and S&P both surged 1.0% to finish higher at the the close.

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PAs expected European and US markets fell slightly overnight as investors locked in profits from the huge gains of the previous day. The Dow, S&P and FTSE were all down around 1.5%.

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President Obama's plan to help the ailing US banking system remove 'toxic assets' from balance sheets saw the US market boom overnight, with the Dow rising 6.6% and S&P up 7.0%.

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The US markets drifted lower (Dow -1.7%, S&P 2%) on an unexciting Friday trade. And there were no news drivers, just the markets reassessing the previous week's slight bounce.

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The Dow (down 1%) and S&P (down 1.3%) slipped back to their Wednesday positions as the market continues to figure out the impact of the Fed's latest move.

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An interesting announcement by the US Federal Reserve has pushed the Dow Jones up 1.2% and the Aussie dollar up to US$0.678.

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Overnight gains pushed the Dow (2.5%) and S&P (3.2%) higher, and the US market has now risen 15% since March 9. Housing data also improved - have we finally passed the bottom?

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Despite Ben Bernanke's positive comments about the banks, the US market hasn't been able to crack a fifth consecutive day of gains - a feat unseen since May.

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Markets don't turn when they see the light at the end of the tunnel, they turn when the dark is suddenly a little less dark. And we may be close to that point.

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Friday the 13th should turn out lucky for some - US markets closed higher overnight with the Dow rising 3.5% and the S&P up 4%. Expect the good luck to continue on local markets.

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US markets were close to flat last night - which is good news considering the previous day's bounce could have seen markets pull back.

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Finally - some great news. US markets boomed overnight, with the Dow up 5.8% and the S&P up 6.4% following an internal memo from Citibank stating that they'd actually made money. Citibank shares rose 30%, and investors can expect the Australian market to open around 3% higher.

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Gloomy sentiment is weighing down markets. Yesterday the World Bank forecast total global growth will be negative this year - a result not seen since WWII.

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The US had a mixed night, the Dow was up half a percent and the S&P up 0.1. It still made it a pretty poor week with both those indexes down more than 6% so the carnage goes on.

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What bounce? Overnight falls in the US have reversed the previous day's gains, and the S&P 500 now sits at 1996 levels.

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At last, we got the market bounce we've been waiting for, and it was a strong one at that.

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Investors would be hoping for a bounce after the falls of the last few days. The overnight news suggests that wonwas a clear example of t

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The bad news just doesn't seem to end. AIG's reported loss of $62bn - the biggest loss in US corporate history - saw the Dow fall 4.3% and the S&P drop 4.7%.

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A bleak day Friday wrapped up a bleak week and month for US markets, with falls in the Dow and S&P and the news the last quarter of 2008 was the worst since 1982...

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The US market is heading for a sixth straight monthly decline, as the Dow finished down 1.2% - despite being up 1.8% at one stage, and the S&P finished down 1.6%.

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Weakness in US markets was triggered by disappointing news of falling existing home sales in January. After a tospy turvy session, the Dow and S&P ended down 1.1%.

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US markets bounced and almost reversed yesterday's losses, following optimism from the US Federal Reserve that they would not nationalise the banking system in the near future.

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The S&P 500 has closed at its lowest point since 1997 in a disappointing session for US markets, closing down 3.2% while the Dow Jones closed down 3.4%.

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US markets have fell heavily during the day following concern of the possible nationalisation of financial firms including the Bank of America and Citibank, but rallied to close just a little more than 1%.

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US markets started quite strongly but finished in the red following some weak economic news - the Dow Jones and S&P closed down 1.2%. Earlier, European markets closed slightly stronger.

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US markets stabilised after yesterday's plunge - the Dow Jones closed up 0.04% and the S&P up 0.1%. Financials fell further despite announcement of the Obama Government's housing rescue plan.

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Another poor day in global markets. The US Dow Jones is within a whisker of its low point in November last year, closing down 3.5%, and all major European indices were down more than 2%.

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US markets were on holiday overnight with the President's Day long weekend. All European markets were lower by about 1% and US Futures also traded lower overnight.

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Unease of the US Treasury's bank rescue plan continues to weigh on US markets, resulting in its worst week since November with the S&P down 4.9% for the week.

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After being down more than 3% with 2 hours left of trade, US markets regained almost all in the last hour to finish almost neutral. Retail sales in January surprised - rising 1% after 6 successive monthly falls.

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European and US markets were up slightly overnight, with the Dow Jones closing up 0.6%. The US stimulus package is still making its way through the legislative process - when it does we'll possibly see a relief rally.

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The disappointing bank rescue plan announced by US Treasury and testimony by the Federal Reserve has seen markets react in their worst night since January 20 - the Dow Jones and S&P 500 both dropped around 4.6%.

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US markets were close to flat overnight as it waits for: President Obama's press conference on the state of the economy, passing of the fiscal package and announcement of a new financial rescue package.

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US had a good night - Dow Jones up 2.5% and S&P up 2.6%. Weak employment news buoys market belief that stimulus package will pass Congress. Signs emerging that the pace of decline is no longer accelerating.

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Chris Thompson: Main economic news came out of the UK overnight, as the Bank of England cut interest rates from 1.5% to 1%. In the US, markets were strong - the Dow Jones was up 1.3% and the S&P up 1.6%.

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European markets had a good night, as the FTSE and continental markets were up more than 1%. This lead wasn't followed in the US - the Dow Jones was down 1.5% and the S&P down 0.8%.

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Good news overnight, with the Dow Jones up 1.8% and the S&P up 1.6%. This was driven by company news - rather than economic news - with healthcare and home building profits being better than analyst expectations.

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US markets were mixed overnight - with the Dow Jones down 0.8%, the S&P flat, and the Nasdaq up. The Aussie market will open down, but the close will depend on other events,including the RBA decision on interest rates.

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Despite US GDP figures being better than expected, the 3.8% drop for the last quarter of 2008 still had US markets in the red, with the S&P down 2.2% and the Dow Jones down 1.8%.

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A four-day rising streak in US markets has been broken, following news of an increase in people collecting unemployment benefits and worse-than-expected new homes sales data. The Dow Jones fell 2.7% and S&P fell 3.3%.

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While I've been proven wrong before, it's starting to look like last Friday was the low point in financial markets as the US closed up for the fourth day in a row. The S&P was up 3.4% and the Dow Jones was up 2.5%.

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US markets were up for the third day in a row as the S&P closed up 1.1% and the Dow Jones 0.7%. Economic news overnight wasn't really news - consumer confidence dropped in January and housing prices continue to fall.

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The FTSE closed up more than 4% overnight following news that Barclays Bank in the UK made significant profit in 2008. This news also helped US markets as the S&P 500 gained 0.5%.

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Another weak night in US markets, driven by Microsoft's announcement of lower earnings and job cuts, as well as a further fall in housing starts for the month of December. The Dow Jones closed down 1.2% and the S&P down 1.5%.

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Day to day market volatility saw US markets undo most (but not all) of the damage from Tuesday. The Dow Jones closed up a little over 3.5% and the S&P closed up 4.4%.

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US markets took no comfort in Barack Obama's inauguration, instead reacting to the loss announced by the Royal Bank of Scotland the day before. The Dow Jones fell over 4% and the S&P fell 5.3%.

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The Dow Jones and the S&P 500 both finished up by 0.8% on Friday - despite news that industrial production, manufacturing production and the CPI fell for the month of December.

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After the European Central Bank cut interest rates by half a percent overnight, European markets closed down between 1% and 2%. US markets were volatile all day but managed to just finish in positive territory.

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The US consumer is cutting back more than expected, as retails sales for December declined 2.7%. Not surprisingly, this news has spooked equity markets - the Dow Jones fell 2.9% and the S&P fell 3.4%.

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It was a quiet night in overseas markets with little economic and market news. After a weak afternoon in trade, the US Dow Jones recovered in the last hour to close 26 points down, while the S&P closed up 0.2%.

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Overnight markets saw weakness in commodities as the price of oil fell 7% to under $40 a barrel, and gold dropped US$35 to US$820. In equity markets, the Dow Jones was down 1.5% and the S&P was down 2.3%.

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The Dow Jones closed down 1.6% and the S&P down 2.1% after employment numbers released on Friday showed the US economy lost 2.6 million jobs in 2008 - the biggest decline since 1925.

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As the Bank of England cut UK interest rates to their lowest level ever, European markets finished slightly down overnight. In the US, the Dow Jones closed down 0.3% while the S&P closed up 0.3%.

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The US market had a negative night, following a forecast that payroll employment could decline by a massive 700,000 in the month of December. The Dow Jones fell 2.8% and the S&P fell 3%.

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A good night overseas should set up the Australian market for further gains today. In economic news, the index measuring sentiment in the US service sector was not as bad as expected - following the trend of recent economic data.

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US markets were down overnight for a change, but not hugely. The Dow Jones fell just 0.9% and the S&P fell 0.5%, possibly due to concern about events in Gaza - not because of economic news.

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US markets have got the first trading day of 2009 off to a good start, as the Dow Jones closes up 2.9% and the S&P closes up 3.2%...

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The year in financial markets may have been very poor but the last day of trade was reasonably good. In the US, the Dow Jones was up 1.3% and the S&P by 1.4%...

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