Financial markets this week Concerns early in the week over weaker than expected U.S. payroll data where quickly erased with most equity markets showing little net movement for the week. The U.S. S&P 500 Index finished the week to Thursday 0.4% higher, while the local S&P ASX 200 index dropped 0.3%. Australian employment data for the month of December was weaker than expected, with the number of workers employed dropping 22,600. Despite a 0.2% drop in the participation rate, the unemployment rate remained at 5.8%. The softer employment numbers triggered a fall in local bond yields, with the Australian 5-year Government bond yield dropping 0.13% to 3.42% over the week. With domestic interest rate expectations slightly lower, there was also a fall in the $A, which declined from U.S. 89.0 cents to US 88.2 cents.
Posted on: Sun, 19 Jan 2014 22:36:42 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015