Local Markets Commentary

The Australian market opens Friday trade on positive equities and mixed key commodities leads.

In overnight commodities trade, US gold futures traded lower. Oil swung but settled lower. Iron ore turned higher. Copper did likewise and rallied.

The $A dropped to ~74.20c after climbing to ~US74.80c yesterday evening.

Regionally today, October property prices are expected out of China 12.30pm AEDST.

Overseas Market Commentary

Major European and US equities markets settled higher following a swag of economic indicator reports and public comments from the US Federal Reserve.

Energy costs helped push US October CPI 0.4% higher for the month. Core CPI (ex-energy and food) rose 0.1%. Year-on-year, CPI growth came in at 1.6%. Core prices rose 2.1%.

Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen told a parliamentary economic committee overnight that stronger inflation was one reason the case for a rate rise had become stronger.

Additional overnight reports supported rate views.

October housing starts jumped 25.5% to a nine-year peak and building permits rose 0.3%.

Weekly new unemployment claims fell 19,000 to 235,000.

A Philadelphia region manufacturing index fell 2.1 to 7.6, but nonetheless represented expansion-mode activity for a fourth consecutive month.

Across in the UK, October retail sales rose (by volume) an annual 7.4%, the quickest pace in 14 years. The government attributed the gain to cool weather and Halloween buying.

Euro zone October CPI growth was confirmed in a final reading at 0.5%.

Tonight in the US, a leading index and another regional manufacturing index are due.

In Frankfurt, European Central Bank (ECB) president Mario Draghi is scheduled to speak at Euro Finance Week.

Overnight, a buy recommendation boosted Microsoft.

Cisco Systems suffered after forecasting, post-US trade Tuesday, a pullback in December quarter revenue.

Retailer Wal-Mart also fell, despite matching quarterly earnings expectations and lifting the lower end of forecast full-year profit.

Best Buy managed to please with its better-than-anticipated results, in no small part due to last night’s new housing data supporting likely ongoing demand for household goods.

Meanwhile, the US is preparing to celebrate Thanksgiving Thursday this coming week.