US stocks have closed down as the Bank of Japan's shocking call to cap monetary stimulus continued to rattle investors while a late day decline in Apple shares on remarks by billionaire investor Carl Icahn added to selling pressure.
Gold has risen more than one per cent as the Bank of Japan held off from expanding monetary stimulus, boosting the yen versus the US dollar, and after the Federal Reserve signalled it was in no rush to tighten monetary policy.
The cost of the state government’s Aubin Grove train station project has increased for the second time in the past year, with the cost now revised to $120 million.
Wall Street stocks edged up, US Treasury debt yields fell, and oil prices rose to the highest level of the year after the Federal Reserve signalled it was in no hurry to change policy.
Gold has risen for a third straight session, but has pared gains after the US Federal Reserve held interest rates unchanged but left the door ajar to a rise in June.
Perth has had its deepest quarter of deflation since the 1991 ‘recession we had to have’, with prices falling 0.6 per cent in the three months to March, driven by cooling house prices and cheaper fuel.
The S&P 500 has ticked up, buoyed by gains in the energy and materials sectors as soft economic data weakened the dollar, giving support to oil and gold prices.
Gold has rebounded after weaker-than-expected US durable goods data knocked the US dollar to a session low against the euro, but prices remained hemmed into a narrow range as a two-day Federal Reserve policy meeting began.
Gold has risen as a retreat in the US dollar helped to tempt back some buyers after the previous session's 1.3 per cent slide, but moves were muted ahead of a Federal Reserve policy meeting this week.
US stock prices have fallen due to weaker oil prices and disappointing company results, while the dollar has retreated on profit-taking ahead of central bank policy meetings in the United States and Japan later this week.
Oil prices have slipped as producers hinted at more output, while US stocks had their first loss in four sessions after a mixed bag of earnings reports.
Wall Street has suffered its first loss in four sessions after a mixed bag of quarterly reports and a warning by Verizon Communications that a strike by workers would likely impact its bottom line
The suggestion Treasurer Mike Nahan threatened to quit if the privatisation of electricity utility Western Power was not contemplated has been shot down by the premier.
SPECIAL REPORT: The state government is pursuing major reforms to the training sector, at a time when national data on traineeships and apprenticeships tells a surprising story for WA.
Gold has steadied as a firmer tone to the US dollar has held gains in check, though silver extended gains to an 11-month peak, boosted by technical momentum and perceptions it is undervalued versus gold.
Oil prices have jumped as government data showed US crude stocks rose slightly less than expected last week, while the US dollar advanced against the euro ahead of a European Central Bank meeting.
Wall Street ended less than two per cent short of a record-high close as a rebound in oil prices added to optimism sparked by a raft of earnings reports.
