International markets were mainly stronger on Friday night, as investors took heart from the latest comments on the Greek debt crisis and positive US economic data.

In Europe the FTSE added 20 points (+0.3%) to settle at 5905, whilst the CAC (+1.4%) and DAX (1.4%) fared even better.

Stateside, the Dow Jones advanced 46 points (+0.4%) to settle at 12950, whilst the broader S&P added just 0.2% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 0.3%.

Over the week the Dow Jones index rose 1.2% with the S&P 500 up 1.4% and the Nasdaq rose by 1.7%.

The Aussie dollar closed just above the US$1.07 handle on Friday night but has gapped sharply higher this morning to currently be trading closer to US$1.08.

Oil continued its recent run, adding 93 US cents (+0.9%) to US$103.24 a barrel.

Base metal prices were mixed; lead rose 1.5% and aluminium gained 0.2% but other metals lost between 1.4-2.3%.

In company news, Bendigo and Adelaide has reported 67% slide in first half profit to $57.9 million.

Commonwealth Bank ($1.37), Telstra (14c) and Oz Minerals (30c) go ex dividend today, whilst we will get reports from Amcor, Bluescope, Challenger Financial, GPT and Lend Lease.

There is no major local economic data due out for today’s session.

Click Now to Receive FREE Trading Recommendations!

Digg

Stumble Upon

Del.icio.us

Buzz