US markets posted their first positive week in a month following comments from the head of the European Central Bank hinting at further economic stimulus there.
A jump in oil prices also satisfied investors with Wall Street providing our local market with a positive lead.
Markets
Wall Street closed higher on Friday: The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 1.3 per cent to close at 16,094, the S&P 500 advanced 2 per cent to close at 1,907 and the NASDAQ rose 2.7 per cent to close at 4,591.
European markets closed up London’s FTSE was up 2.2 per cent, Paris rose 3.1 per cent and Frankfurt added 2 per cent.
Asian markets closed higher: Tokyo’s Nikkei added nearly 6 per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng added nearly three per cent, and China’s Shanghai Composite rose by 1.3 per cent.
The Australian share market closed stronger ahead of the weekend: The S&P/ASX 200 Index closed 52 points up to finish at 4,916 to be 23 points up on the week. On the futures market the SPI is pointing 55 points higher
Currencies
The Australian Dollar at 7:10AM was buying 70.04 US cents, 49.11 Pence Sterling, 83.12 Yen and 64.89 Euro cents.
Company news
Grange Resources Limited
(ASX:GRR) says recent falls in the iron ore price are forcing the company to cut staff. This means a total of 55 positions in the Tasmanian operations will be made redundant through an internal restructure to reduce costs. Shares in Grange Resources last traded steady at $0.085.
Automotive Group Holdings Limited
(ASX:AHG) say they have promoted Andrew Le Lievre to head up the Scotts Refirgerated Freightways division of the company. Mr Le Lievre was previously general manager of business development for the logisitics side of the company. Shares in AHG last traded up nearly half a per cent at $4.20.
Commodities
Gold has shed $1.90 to US$1,096 an ounce for the February contract on Comex. Silver has shed 4 cents to $14.06 for March. Copper has added 1 cent to $2.00 a pound. Oil is up $2.66 to US$32.19 a barrel for February light crude in New York.
