Apn News & Media Limited

Wall Street hit new highs for the year over optimism of the corporate earnings. The rise was led by Caterpillar as a broker said the company was among the best-positioned companies to benefit from improving global growth and spending on construction, infrastructure and commodities.

Wall Street made a third consecutive day gain overnight as some latest economic data shows that the recession is bottoming out. Financials were also buoyed after Insurance giant American International Group said it expects to repay the government.

The Australian market closed higher yesterday driven by the news of Xstrata's proposed merger with Anglo-American and NAB's buying Aviva Australia. The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was up 0.5 per cent, or 18.6 points, at 3918.2, while the broader All Ordinaries index advanced 0.4 per cents, or 16.4 points, at 3910.8.

The Australian shares closed marginally higher on Wednesday despite weak lead from Wall Street and steep quarterly contraction in Japan. The resources stocks were higher on stronger commodities prices. The benchmark S&P/ASX200 was up 7.3 points, or 0.19 per cent, at 3824.6, while the broader All Ordinaries gained 8.3 points, or 0.22 per cent, to 3808.9. Investors are expecting some pullback in recent trading sessions and seeking more fund raisings at discount on the market.

The Australian share market yesterday ended stronger despite the negative lead from Wall Street. The benchmark S&P/ASX200 was up 81.7 points, or 2.2 per cent, at 3817.3, while the broader All Ordinaries gained 79.0 points, or 2.1 per cent, to 3800.6. Today the local market could be buoyed by the rising commodities prices.

Yesterday Australian market was marginally higher, boosted by rally overseas. The benchmark S&P/ASX200 gained 7.4 points, or 0.19 per cent, at 3890.4, while the broader All Ordinaries rose 16.2 points, or 0.42 per cent, to 3862.2.

Yesterday the Australian shares were showing their resilience to the bad leads from overseas. The market ended with a modest drop after a rebound from the early losses. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 ended down 0.6%, or 19.6 points, at 3331.6, while the broader All Ordinaries index also fell 0.6%, or 19.1 points, to 3285.

On Friday, the Australian share market closed down to a near five-year. The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was down 144.1 points, or 4.13 per cent, at 3,342.7 while the broader All Ordinaries index fell 131.6 points, or 3.83 per cent, to 3,300.3. The market is expected to stabilize today after the good leads from US and European stock markets.

Yesterday, the S&P/ASX-200 share index fell about 1.6%, or 61.3 points, to 3681.2, while the broader All Ordinaries lost 53.7 points, or 1.5%, at 3619. Some US economic research institutions admitted the recession actually started last December, and now the questions are how bad and how long it will be.