Australian shares ran to a four-week high this morning as the dollar rebounded on strong job numbers and U.S. futures and most regional markets rallied.
At lunchtime the ASX 200 was ahead 33 points or 0.7% at 4733, spearheaded by gains for the big banks, industrials and health, all up more than 1%. Gold, telecoms and consumer discretionary were the only sectors to lose ground.
The dollar rallied more than half a cent to trade recently at 98.68 U.S. cents following mid-morning news that the jobless rate fell to 5.2% last month from 5.4% in October. The economy creating 54,600 jobs during the month, the biggest number since January and almost three times the figure expected by economists.
"The real stand out is the continued strength of full-time jobs growth," Macquarie senior economist Brian Redican told Fairfax. "These are extraordinary gains we've had over the last 12 months."
The market shrugged off profit downgrades from Bank of Queensland and The Reject Shop. Shares in BOQ were recently down more than 6% after the lender warned that the depressed commercial property market in Queensland would undermine its full-year earnings. Retail shares pulled back after TRS warned that last month's interest rate rise had impacted on sales at its stores.
Most Asian markets rebounded from yesterday's sell-off. Japan's Nikkei was up 0.18% and Hong Kong's Hang Seng 0.33% but Shanghai eased another 0.5%. Dow futures were recently at a bullish +35.
Crude oil futures recovered 62 cents this morning to reach $89.09 a barrel. The spot gold price was $3.10 stronger at $1,385.10 an ounce.
Another very bullish morning. Anyone know why U.S. futures are so strong? I notice the U.S. dollar has pulled back quite sharply - is that all it takes? A nice morning at this trading desk thanks to the dumps in BOQ and TRS. There's enough money looking for a home just now for pretty much any sell-off to find buyers. I rode both from near the lows and also scalped the tumble in the newly-listed IDC. May be one to watch in the future but it's friendless this morning compared to HAR.
