Good Morning all, and thx PJ, Ak., HLL HERE'S OVERNIGHT MARKET...

Good Morning all, and thx PJ, Ak., HLL

HERE'S OVERNIGHT MARKET UPDATE:
The Australian SPI 200 > Dec 09 futures contract was up 12 points or 0.3% to 4666.

The USD > weakened against major crosses overnight after the US Fed kept interest
rates on hold. EUR/USD was trading higher overnight but later pared losses to open
marginally lower at 1.4516. GBP/USD hit a high of 1.6412 overnight after strong UK
employment figures, opening at 1.6332. USD/JPY opens marginally higher at 89.94
after a quiet session overnight.

The AUD > dipped overnight with weaker than expected GDP figures weighing heavily on
the currency. AUD/USD opens marginally higher at 0.8994, falling to a low of 0.8956
overnight. AUD/EUR opens at 0.6195, trading range bound for most of the night.
AUD/JPY opens at 80.90 after a choppy session and the AUD/NZD dipped below
1.2470 but later recovered to open higher at 1.2488.

Crude oil > rose sharply overnight after US oil inventories dropped to their lowest levels
since January and Iran successfully tested a medium-range missile, drawing threats of
sanctions. WTI futures contract for January rose 2.8% to US$72.67 a barrel.

US > bond yields were trading mixed overnight after the US Fed maintained its interest
rates at low levels, citing that recovery is gaining strength. The 2-year yield was flat at
0.847%, whilst the 10-year yield gained 2bps to 3.603%.

Australian > bond futures moved in line with US Treasuries. The implied yield on 3-
year bond futures was unchanged at 4.930% (price 95.070) and the implied yield on
the 10-year bond futures was up 2bps at 5.565% (price down 2bps to 94.435).

US equities > rose overnight after the US Fed kept interest rates unchanged, housing
and consumer prices increased adding signs that the economy is recovering without
impacting inflation. At the time of writing, the DJIA was down 0.1% at 10450, the S&P
500 rose 0.4% to 1112 and the Nasdaq was 0.4 higher at 2211.

European equities > surged overnight following positive economic news in the US and
an unexpected decreased in UK unemployment number. The DJ Euro Stoxx 50 rose
1.3% to 2927, the German DAX increased 1.6% to 5903 and the FTSE was up 0.7% at
5320.

Spot > gold increased as the US dollar weakened after the US Fed maintained interest
rates at low levels, increasing the appeal of the metal as an alternative asset. Spot
gold rose 0.6% to US$1,131.50 an ounce.

LME > copper December futures increased 2.1% to US$7,039 a tonne after the US
dollar weakened, increasing the appeal of commodities. Other base metal futures
traded positive with zinc, aluminium, nickel and lead increasing 4.2%, 1.9%, 2.9%
and 2.1%, respectively.

US >soybeans increased 0.5% on reports that China increased purchases from the US.
Sugar increased 4.5% on speculation that its price will continue to rise. Wheat gained
1.1%, while corn increased 0.6%. Palm oil futures ended 2.3% high

Good lucky everyone!