Wall Street posted a small gain on Friday despite the Labour Department report showed the US unemployment rate broke above 10 per cent in October, up from 9.8 per cent in September. But the number of jobs lost narrowed to the lowest level in more than a year.

Overnight Dow Jones Industrial Average closed above 10,000 points for the first time in a year, as the investors were encouraged by the better-than-expected earnings from Intel and JPMorgan Chase. The gains in stocks market were also helped by the positive September US retail sales data, which could be a further confirmation of a recovery.

US stocks closed mixed overnight as investors took profit ahead of the wave of corporate earnings offset the news of an acquisition in technology sector. Dow index ended slightly lower while the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite was up on Cisco's deal to purchase Starent Networks.

Overnight the US stocks closed higher on the positive Alcoa earnings and better-than-expected weekly jobless claims and consumer spending. Investors were also encouraged by the US retailers' first same-store sales gains in more than a year.

Wall Street closed flat yesterday after the market rallied for two days. Traders turned cautious before the third quarter earnings kick off. Alcoa (NYSE:AA), the first company to unveil its earnings, posted a better-than-expected result with third quarter net income of US$77 million, after three consecutive quarters of losses.

Wall Street closed lower overnight after American consumer confidence reading in September dropped unexpectedly. The weakness in US technology stocks, which had been a leader for much of Wall Street's six-month rally, yesterday led a fall in the market. The Conference Board's consumer confidence index dipped in September to 53.1 from 54.5 in August as people worries about job market.

ANZ (ASX:ANZ) bank today officially opened its first rural bank in western China, making it the first Australian bank to enter China's rural market.

ING Group (NYSE:ING) said that it has reached an agreement to sell its life insurance and wealth management venture in Australia and New Zealand to ANZ Banking Group, its joint venture partner.

Overnight Wall Street was lower for a second consecutive session on a weak home sales report. The National Association of Realtors said sales of existing homes fell 2.7 per cent in August to an annual rate of 5.10 million units, breaking a string of four increases in six months. The surprise drop in home sales raised more concerns over the economy recovery strength.

Wall Street closed higher overnight on investors' buying in industrial and materials stocks. Meanwhile, the fears of trade dispute between the US and China was offset by the news that a Chinese wealth fund is in talks to take over a minority stake in the US power plant AES.