Aevum Limited

The Australian market was stronger this morning after European Union finance ministers agreed to create emergency measures totalling more than 500 billion euro to help eurozone countries facing financing trouble. The fund involves 440 billion euro from eurozone governments and another 60 billion euro of loan funds coming from the European Commission.

US stocks fell overnight ahead of the Federal Reserve's latest decision on monetary policy and guidance on the outlook for recovery from the recession. The market was also weighed down by the worries that the banking sector has yet to fundamentally improve.

Yesterday Australian shares rallied to their biggest one-day gain since October 1997. Confidence in Australian banks was buoyed by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's announcement that all deposits in Australian financial institutions would be guaranteed for three years. Analysts said last week the market probably hit the bottom when investors were in the depths of fear and panic, but recovery may cost a long time. Despite the short-term buoyancy, the Australian market remains fearful of deeper plunges, especially if the powerful US market continues to falter.