US stocks shrugged off mixed corporate results and eurozone worries to hold onto their gains on Friday, with the main indexes all ending higher for the week despite little concrete positive news.
The Australian sharemarket ended the week on a negative note following the release of disappointing Chinese trade data which signalled further weakness in the global economy.
The Commonwealth Bank of Australia says its acquisition of BankWest saved the Australian economy from a major financial shock during the global downturn.
Australian shares opened slightly higher as the resources sector posts gains after Rio Tinto predicted China would have a quick recovery in its pace of growth.
The Australian dollar is slightly lower ahead of key jobs data.At 1700 AEST, the local unit was trading at 105.45 US cents, down from 105.76 cents yesterday.
A senior Treasury official says Australia's banking system is going through a transition period in the aftermath of the 2008-2009 global financial crisis.
The Australian dollar is lower as traders take profits after the currency reached a five-month high on the back of yesterday's central bank interest rate decision.
US stocks have rallied for a third straight day, buoyed by hopes for more stimulus from the Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank to boost weak economies.
The Australian dollar closed slightly higher, after peaking just above 106 US cents, following after the central bank's decision to keep interest rates on hold.
Australian shares opened stronger, buoyed by overnight leads and hopes the European Central Bank will take action soon to relieve the euro zone debt crisis.
US stocks scored moderate gains Monday, extending Friday's sharp rally on hopes that the European Central Bank may soon take action to relieve the eurozone sovereign debt crisis.
The Australian dollar is more than half a US cent higher, following optimistic job figures from the US.At 1700 AEST, the local unit was trading at 105.60 US cents, up from 104.95 cents.
The Australian share market started the week strongly, closing up by more than one per cent on robust overseas leads, following better than expected US jobs data.
Investment firm Argo Investments says global equity markets are unlikely to show any meaningful recovery in the short term but, in the long term, the Australian market represented relatively good v
Western Australia’s top 100 companies have outperformed the national stockmarket over the past decade, but when markets turn down it’s the WA stocks that suffer the most.
