GOOD MORNING ALL,..HERE'S AN OVERNIGHT MARKET UPDATE:> US bond...

GOOD MORNING ALL,..

HERE'S AN OVERNIGHT MARKET UPDATE:

> US bond yields rose for the first time in three days as stocks gained, dampening demand for US debt amid speculation that the recent rally may not be sustained. The yield on 2-year notes gained 2bps to 0.886%, whilst the 10-year yield rose 3bps to 3.704%.

> Australian bond futures moved in line with US Treasuries yet outperformed at both the short and long end of the curves. The implied yield on 3-year bond futures was up 5bps to 5.150% (price down 5bps to 94.850) and the implied yield on the 10-year bond futures gained 6bps to 5.620% (price down 6bps to 94.380).

> While US equities advanced as health care companies rallied on speculation Republicans would block an industry overhaul if they win a Senate seat and technology companies gained on earnings optimism. At the time of writing, the DJIA was up 1.0% to 10711, the S&P 500 rose 0.9% to 1148 and the Nasdaq was 1.3% higher at 2317.

> And European equities climbed for the second consecutive day as Cadbury agreed to a takeover by Kraft Foods and Burberry Group reported sales that beat analysts estimates. The DJ Euro Stoxx 50 rose 0.9% to 2985, the German DAX gained 1.0% to 5976 and the FTSE was 0.3% higher at 5513.

> The Australian SPI 200 Mar 10 futures contract was up 34 points or 0.7% to 4877.

> Meanwhile Crude oil rose from a three-week low as hedge-fund managers and other large speculators increased their bets on rising crude oil prices and was also buoyed by the US equities rally. WTI futures contract for January rose 1.2% to US$78.95 a barrel.

> And Spot gold increased overnight despite the US dollar strengthening. Spot gold rose 0.4% to US$1,138.40 an ounce.

> Also LME copper increased 0.6% to US$7545 on reports that Chinese imports of unwrought copper jumped 27% and on speculation that demand would remain robust in China. Other base metal futures traded mixed with zinc and nickel increasing 0.9% and 1.7%, aluminium and lead decreased 0.4% and 1.6%, respectively.

> While US wheat fell 2.1% on expectations that world production would outpace consumption. Soybeans declined 1.0% as the US dollar strengthened, reducing the demand for commodities. Sugar rose 4.9% on speculation that increasing demand and limited supplies would widen a global deficit for the commodity. Corn was initially higher on speculation that the lower prices would increase export demand but later pared gains to end 0.6% down. Palm oil futures rebounded from an eight-week low to close 0.2% higher.

> The USD strengthened against major currency pairs overnight as Europes economic outlook discouraged demand for higher-yielding assets. EUR/USD weakened overnight after German investor confidence decreased and opens todays session at 1.4290. GBP/USD strengthened after UK data showed the strongest rate of inflation since 1997, opening higher at 1.6363. USD/JPY opens higher at 91.11, gaining steadily.

> The AUD weakened against major counterparts after Chinas rates outlook dampened investor demand for riskier assets. AUD/USD dipped to an overnight low of 0.9175 but later pared some losses to open higher at 0.9240. AUD/EUR opens strong at 0.6465 after a relatively quiet session. AUD/JPY trades at 84.20 after whippy session and the AUD/NZD opens at 1.2510 trading flat overnight.


GOOD LUCK TO ALL TRADERS!