Australian stocks rose Wednesday following encouraging earnings result from media group News Corp. At the close, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index gained 42.6 points, or 0.9 per cent, at 4647.9, while the broader All Ordinaries index rose 44.4 points, or 1 per cent, to 4673.2.
Most Asian stock markets rebounded Thursday after the U.S. Federal Reserve's pledge to keep interest rates near zero for "an extended period". But analysts expect this would be a temporary rebound. Yesterday, Japan's Nikkei rose 1.6 per cent, boosted by the upbeat earnings reports. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index added 1.6%, South Korea's Kospi climbed 1.0 per cent and Taiwan's Taiex climbed 1.8 per cent.
The Australian share market lost much of its early gains after NAB's surprise bid for the local and New Zealand assets of AXA Asia Pacific Holdings. Woodside's capital raising also gave the market a pullback. At the close, the local market was slightly higher. The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index closed up 8.4 points, or 0.18 per cent, at 4670.3 points, while the broader All Ordinaries index gained 13.5 points, or 0.29 per cent, to 4689.6 points.
Dubai yesterday said it had received US$10 billion in financing from Abu Dhabi to pay part of the debt held by Dubai World and its property unit Nakheel. The news prompted the Australian market into positive territory in late trade. At the close, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index rose 0.4 per cent, at 4654, after earlier falling as low as 4608.3. The broader-based All Ordinaries index climbed 16.8 points, or 0.4 per cent, to 4668.2.
Asian stocks mostly Friday moved higher at opening after the strong economic figures from the US boosted investor confidence. Today the focus will be on a series of economic data of China. The nation's key official figures on industrial production, CPI, and retail sales are due out later in the day.
Wall Street closed flat overnight after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said the interest rate would be hold at low for an extended period due to the subdued economy and low inflation.
Overnight US stocks ended at a fresh 13-month high ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday, helped by a series of upbeat economic data. A report showed initial claims for US jobless insurance benefits plunged to their lowest levels since September last year. US incomes rose 0.2 per cent and consumer spending jumped 0.7 per cent in October. New home sales rose 6.2 per cent unexpectedly.
