Yesterday, the S&P/ASX 200 closed higher by 27 points, to 4,486.10.
Monday’s producer price index (PPI) figures have come in at slightly lower than economists expected. The PPI figure for the June quarter rose by 0.3% as economists were expecting an increase of 0.3%. The PPI has risen 1% since June 2009.
Overnight, the Dow Jones Industrial Average ended the day higher by 100 points to 10,525.43. The Dow jumped on the back of surprising new home sales data in the US. Sales for June were 23.6% higher than May.
However, Joel Naroff, president of Naroff Economic Advisors warned, ‘Builders sold almost no new homes in May, so the sharp rise in June shouldn’t be taken as a sign the housing market is suddenly on fire.’
The FTSE closed at 5,351.12, up by 38 points. Banking stocks clawed back Friday’s losses after the stress test showed there were no nasty surprises.
BP [LON: BP] shares gained 5% after CEO Tony Hayward stepped down, and then confirmed he was being shipped off to a joint venture in Russia.
The Nikkei added 72 points, closing at 9,503.66.
The price of spot gold in Australian dollars is $1,314.26, while in US dollars it’s $1,184.23. The price of silver in Australian dollars is $20.12 and in US dollars it’s $18.13.
The Aussie dollar is higher this morning thanks to the American new home sales data which saw our commodity-driven currency push past the 90 cent mark. The Aussie dollar has gained over 7% since the start of July.
Kathy Lien, Director of Currency Research at GFT, believes there is a chance that the Aussie dollar will reach 92 cents if the Reserve Bank raises interest rates next week.
The Aussie dollar versus US dollar is AUDUSD 0.9014 and against the Japanese Yen it’s AUDJPY 78.40.
Crude Oil closed at USD$78.95.
For the biggest movers on the market yesterday click here…
That’s all I have for you this morning, see you tomorrow.
Shae.
