Stocks Rally On Positive US Economic Outlook| March 14, 2012


The Australian equity market is pointed to a positive start to the trading day after the US Fed’s announced that it will hold steady on monetary policy while identifying a brighter economic outlook.

The Dow (see above chart) finished the session up 217 points at 13177.68 while the S&P500 index finished the day up 24.86 points at 1395.95. Earlier in the day European shares finish higher with the German stock index finished up 1.3 percent at 6995.90.

On an economic front the US Commerce Department announced that retail sales recorded their largest gain in five months in February coming in at higher than expected at 1.1 percent.

The dollar gained against both the euro and yen as the Federal Reserve policy makers increased their outlook of the economy. EURUSD traded down from overnight highs of 1.3175 to recent lows of 1.3054.

Gold traded down from overnight highs of 1703.5 to recent lows of 1662.2 after the Federal Reserve announcement caused the dollar to climb eroding the investment appeal of the precious metal.

The Volatility Index which is widely considered the best gauge of fear in the market has traded down to its lowest point since 2007, closing at 14.80.

INDICES
Last Traded
SPI 200 future 4293
S&P500 Index 1395.95
Dow Jones 13177.68
FTSE 100 Index 5955.9

COMMODITIES
Last Traded
Gold 1671.30
Oil (Nymex) 106.71

CURRENCIES
Last Traded
AUDUSD 1.0540
EURUSD 1.3080
GBPUSD 1.5706
USDJPY 82.90
Source
Bloomberg, Dow Jones News