Royal Bank of Scotland Group plc

The Australian shares edged higher on the first trading day of 2010. Energy stocks surged amid expectations the oil price will continue to rise this year. At the close, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index advanced 5.7 points, or 0.1 per cent, at 4876.3 points, while the broader All Ordinaries index gained 7.1 points, or 0.1 per cent, to 4889.8.

International banks, such as UK-based Standard Chartered Plc (LON:STAN), HSBC (LON:HSBA) and Australia & New Zealand Banking Group (ASX:ANZ), devoted more efforts to strengthen their exposure in Asia market amid global economy downturn.

Wall Street closed at a nine-month high overnight boosted by earnings reports and encouraging economic data in US manufacturing activity and new car sales. Energy and materials companies also broadly lifted the market.

Wall Street ended the last trading session of July with a positive note on Friday. The Dow increased 0.86% for the week and 8.58% for the month thanks for the better-than-expected earnings reports. The US government reported on Friday that gross domestic product declined by 1% in the second quarter, while economists had expected that number to be around 1.5%. The result gave investors stronger confidence that the worst recession since the Great Depression is likely coming to an end.

US stocks broadly surged on Thursday fueled by the better-than-expected earnings reports. The market's rally pushed the major indexes to their highest closes of the year.

The Australian share market ended higher on Friday, led by banking stocks. The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index rose 62.4 points, or 1.66 per cent, to 3,818.1, while the broader All Ordinaries index gained 59.4 points, or 1.58 per cent, to 3,813.3.

Australian shares market yesterday was buoyed by the news Rio Tinto reached a better than expected iron ore price agreement with Japan's Nippon Steel. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index gained 50.5 points, or 1.4 per cent, at 3788.4, while the broader All Ordinaries index rose 46.3 points, or 1.2 per cent, to 3781.6.

Yesterday the Australian shares closed slightly lower as falls in financial stocks overshadowed the gains in big miners. The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was down 0.1%, or 5.4 points, at 3747.5, while the broad-market All Ordinaries index fell 0.1%, or 4 points, at 3693.9.

The Australian stocks closed Friday with little change after falls from early highs. The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index declined one point, or 0.03 per cent, to 3344.5, while the broader All Ordinaries fell half a point, or 0.02 per cent, to 3296.9. With the reporting seasons over, the market focus will return to the economic data and RBA's rate cut decision this week.