Thanks Tweets. Half-time round-up:The Australian share market...

Thanks Tweets. Half-time round-up:

The Australian share market wiped out last week's losses this morning after a slide in the U.S. dollar sparked a rebound in oil and precious metals.

At lunchtime the ASX 200 was up 54 points or 1.2% at 4702 as merger news helped lift all sectors. Fronting the gains were IT +3.9%, energy +1.8% and financials +1.7%.

The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against six major currencies, slumped 0.6% this morning following the weekend G-20 summit.

"The G-20 has shown no indication that the U.S. will back away from the large quantitative easing policy anticipated from the Fed," said Greg Gibbs, a currency strategist at Royal Bank of Scotland in Sydney told Bloomberg.

The Australian dollar pushed back above 99 U.S. cents, trading recently at 99.08, after a jump in producer prices increased the odds on an interest rate rise next month. The producer price index rose 1.3% last quarter, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said this morning.

Oil and precious metals maintained their inverse relationship with the U.S. dollar, rallying this morning as the greenback declined. Crude futures were recently up 40 cents to $82.31 a barrel. Spot gold was $10 stronger at $1,337 an ounce. Spot silver was up 21 cents at $23.50 an ounce.

Dow futures rallied despite a mixed morning in Asia. Japan's Nikkei eased 0.34% and Shanghai was off 0.45% and Hong Kong's Hang Seng up 0.14%. Dow futures were recently at +27.

In company news, Singapore Exchange Limited this morning confirmed it will buy the ASX in a stock-and-cash deal, subject to regulatory approval. The deal values the ASX at $8.4 billion or $48 per share - a 37.3% premium to Friday's closing price.


A nice start to the week, with our market looking well placed to break out of its recent trading range tomorrow if U.S. equities maintain their recent track record of rising as their dollar falls. A solid morning here, with ARU providing some tradeable swings and a bounce in KAR. Had a first dabble in RMR as it trades around the 50% retrace level.