Aquila Resources Limited

The Australia share market Monday closed firmer on hope of a gradual appreciation of the Chinese yuan. At the close, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index rose 60.7 points, or 1.33 per cent, to 4612.6 points and the broader All Ordinaries index added 58.6 points, or 1.28 per cent, to 4632.7 points. The market was also inspired by the news that Australian federal government struck a A$11 billion deal with Telstra over the planned national broadband network.

The Australian share market opened lower on Friday as metals prices fell. Wall Street has provided a flat lead to the local market. Yesterday the Asian markets widely surged as investors were inspired by the US economic data. The Australian stocks snapped a three-day losing streak and posted a strong 2.4 per cent gain at the close.

Australian stocks declined yesterday on profit taking selling after US aluminium giant Alcoa reported its fourth quarter earnings result, which missed the market expectations. The resources sector drove the local shares lower. The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index closed down 51.2 points, or 1.03 per cent, at 4,899.5 points, while the broader All Ordinaries index lost 49.6 points, or one per cent, to 4,931.6 points.

The Australian sharemarket closed marginally lower in light trading yesterday as banks were down on concerns that bad debts could increase after interest rate rise. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index gave up 5.9 points, or 0.13 per cent, at 4670.60, while the broader All Ordinaries lost 0.19 per cent to 4686.40 points.

Asian markets received a strong lead from Wall Street and mostly opened higher this morning. But gains were trimmed in Tokyo share market after a stronger yen weighed on Japanese exporters. Meanwhile, concerns over companies' massive capital raising plans continue to dent the local sentiment.

Wall Street closed flat yesterday after the market rallied for two days. Traders turned cautious before the third quarter earnings kick off. Alcoa (NYSE:AA), the first company to unveil its earnings, posted a better-than-expected result with third quarter net income of US$77 million, after three consecutive quarters of losses.

Wall Street closed with an eighth consecutive gain on Thursday, as a series of financial firms rose and energy stocks rallied on the rebound of crude oil prices. The US government figure for GDP showed that the US economy shrank at a 1 per cent annual pace in the second quarter, better than analysts' forecast of 1.5 per cent decline.

US stocks fell overnight ahead of the Federal Reserve's latest decision on monetary policy and guidance on the outlook for recovery from the recession. The market was also weighed down by the worries that the banking sector has yet to fundamentally improve.

The Australian market closed higher yesterday driven by the news of Xstrata's proposed merger with Anglo-American and NAB's buying Aviva Australia. The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was up 0.5 per cent, or 18.6 points, at 3918.2, while the broader All Ordinaries index advanced 0.4 per cents, or 16.4 points, at 3910.8.

Share markets around the world rebounded strongly on Friday as regulators took steps to shore up the financial system. The Australia sharemarket regained much of its losses last Friday, closing 4.3% higher, but still down 2% for the week.