The Australian share market has opened higher following mixed results from Wall Street and Europe overnight and amid renewed hopes of fresh economic stimulus in the US.
The Australian dollar briefly rose above the 105 US cents after the central bank board minutes confirmed a positive outlook for the Australian economy.
Australian shares closed at near four-month high, with investor confidence buoyed by strong earnings reports and positive views on housing and investment by the central bank.
A stabilising Chinese economy and tentative signs of an improvement in the non-mining sectors of the local economy were behind the Reserve Bank of Australia's decision to keep the cash rate at 3.5
US stocks have closed flat in quiet trade that still had enough might to push Apple to become the world's most valuable company of all time, eclipsing Microsoft's 1999 record.
Bendigo and Adelaide Bank has highlighted the pressures of high funding costs and weak demand for loans as it reported a 43 per cent drop in full year profit.
US stocks racked up their sixth straight weekly gain on Friday, despite a thin diet of news and low market volume, with the Dow hitting its best level since the end of 2007 and the S&P 500 just
Australian shares have finished almost one per cent higher as investors continue to buy into local companies following better than expected earnings results this week.
Two issues stood out in the central bank's latest quarterly statement, apart from the usual warnings about Europe and China - productivity and the Australian dollar.
An appeal by a consortium of banks that were ordered to pay money to the liquidators of Bell Group has not only failed but backfired, with the likelihood they will have to pay double the original a
The Australian dollar is higher on comments by German Chancellor Angela Merkel about the role of the European Central Bank (ECB) in the region's debt crisis.
The Australian market has opened cautiously higher following gains from markets overnight and amid growing optimism that a eurozone break-up is less likely.
US stocks have put on solid gains after two flat days helped by fresh employment and housing data and German Chancellor Angela Merkel's supportive comments in Canada for the European Central Bank (
The Australian dollar is higher, trading in a tight range as the market awaits further economic data out of the US and more clues as to whether the US economy will get a helping hand.
Equity market operator ASX Ltd has reported a four per cent drop in annual net profit, blaming decreased investor activity arising from Europe's debt crisis.
US stocks have closed mixed with the Dow and S&P 500 essentially flat for the second straight day as fresh data releases failed to give any clearer picture of US economic growth.
