Monday 17 December 2012 | Close

	Foreign Equities	Close	Change	%Change
	Dow Jones (US)	13235	100	0.76
	S&P 500	1430	17	1.19
	NASDAQ	3011	39	1.32
	FTSE 100 Index	5912	-10	-0.16
	DAX 30	7605	8	0.11
	CAC 40	3638	-5	-0.14
	Nikkei 225 (Japan)	9829	91	0.94
	HKSE	22514	-92	-0.41
	SSE Composite Index	2160	10	0.45
	BSE India Sensex 30	19244	-73	-0.38
	NZ 50	3966	-13	-0.32

Monday 17 December 2012 | Close

	Commodities	US$	Close	Change	%Change
	Aluminium	/t	2150	12	0.54
	Copper	/t	8039	-5	-0.06
	Nickel	/t	17538	-271	-1.52
	Gold	/oz	1698	6	0.38
	Silver	/oz	32.2	0.0	0.05
	Oil - West Texas crude	/bbl	87.2	0.1	0.06
	Lead	/t	2287	3	0.13
	Zinc	/t	2057	-7	-0.35

Monday 17 December 2012 | Close

	Currency	Close	Pts Change	% Change
	$A vs $US	1.0536	0.0010	0.09
	$A vs GBP	0.6498	0.0008	0.12
	$A vs YEN	88.48	-0.01	-0.01
	$A vs EUR	0.7998	0.0012	0.15
	$A vs $NZ	1.2485	0.0001	0.01
	$US vs Euro	0.7592	0.0004	0.06
	$US vs UK	0.6168	0.0003	0.05
	$US vs CHF	0.9176	--	0.06

Stocks finished the day higher following reports that House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, proposed a new budget that includes an increase in tax rates. The move could be indicative that policymakers are closer to finding common ground in a deal to avert the fiscal cliff.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 100.38 points, or 0.76%, to 13,235.39 on Monday. The Standard & Poor's 500-stock index gained 16.78 points, or 1.19%, to 1,430.36 and the Nasdaq Composite Index rose 39.27 points, or 1.32%, to 3,010.60.

Separately, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York reported its Empire State Manufacturing Survey decreased to negative 8.1 this month, down from the negative 5.2 in November, which shows a further contraction in activity for the bank's region. The decrease was unexpected, as economists had forecast the index to rise to negative 1.0 for the month.

This morning it was reported that October foreign investment into long-term US fixed-income vehicles had a net increase of $28.4 billion, with Treasury purchases at $7.6 billion, countering the net Treasury sales of $18.3 billion in September.

American International Group (AIG) announced it will sell the remainder of its stake in AIA Group (AAGIY) in a transaction that could be valued by as much as $6.5 billion. AIG had sold about 67% of AIA shares in an IPO more than two years ago, and the most recent announcement can be seen as a move for AIG to sell off noncore assets as it attempts to further recover from the 2008 financial crisis and the subsequent government bailout. AIA's ADR shares fell by 3.4% on the announcement, while AIG shares were 2.3% higher.

The Sprint Nextel and Clearwire boards have agreed on a final price at which Sprint will acquire complete ownership of Clearwire. Sprint will pay $2.97 per share in cash for the roughly 50% of Clearwire that it doesn't already own and will provide Clearwire with $800 million of interim funding during 2013. That $800 million investment is convertible into Clearwire shares at $1.50 per share. Sprint shares were 0.3% higher, but Clearwire shares had plummeted by 13.1%.

Caribou Coffee (CBOU) shares had soared by 30% after the firm announced Germany-based Joh. A. Benckiser is taking the coffee-shop chain private for $16 per share. Just last October, JAB took Peet's Coffee & Tea private, as well.

For Australian ADRs listed on the NYSE, BHP Billiton gained 84 cents (1.1%) to $77.15, ResMed climbed 23 cents (0.55%) to $42.20, Telstra Corporation rose 28 cents (1.25%) to $22.61, Telecom Corporation of NZ fell 2 cents (0.22%) to $9.09 and Westpac slid 26 cents (0.19%) to $135.90.

Treasuries slipped as US equities rally on headlines suggesting President Obama and House Speaker Boehner are meeting in Washington to discuss the fiscal cliff. At 7:45 AM (AEST), the 10-year Treasury note yield was 1.77% and the 5-year yield was 0.72%.

The Australian dollar was flat overnight in low volumes as currency markets await the release of the RBA minutes from its December meeting to gauge sentiment.

European stocks opened flat then drifted lower on Monday in the last full week of trade before Christmas.

The FTSE ended down 9.61 points, or 0.2%, at 5,912.15. The CAC 40 Paris was down 5.18 points, or 0.3%, at 3,638.10 while the German DAX managed to gain 8.47 points, or 0.11%, to 7,604.94.

Trading volumes were expectedly thin just ahead of the Christmas break and also after US budget talks continued to be surrounded by uncertainty.

Shares of Aggreko PLC was the top loser on the FTSE, down 17.3% after the power company warned on business outlook in a trading update.

Rio Tinto strengthened 80.00 pence (2.36%) to 3,430.85 pence and BHP Billiton gained 29.50 pence (1.41%) to 2,108.90 pence.

BNP Paribas and Societe Generale declined 0.4% and 0.6% each respectively while in Frankfurt, Commerzbank was up 0.4%.

Markets in Tokyo and Shanghai ended higher on Monday on speculations of policy measures but others in the region lagged behind amid sustained worries about US fiscal challenges.

The Nikkei finished up 0.9% after hitting an eight-and-a-half-month high in early trades even as the yen plunged to its lowest since April 2011 against the US dollar on heels of the country's electoral results.

Japan's main opposition Liberal Democratic Party returned to power in a sweeping victory in Sunday's national parliamentary elections. Shinzo Abe, leader of the victorious party, said ending deflation was his top priority, and pledged to boost the faltering economy by quickly passing a huge stimulus spending bill.

Hopes of policy measures resounded in Shanghai where a statement issued at the end of the annual central economic work conference on Sunday said the country would continue to "implement pro-active fiscal policy and prudent monetary policy next year".

The Shanghai Composite was up 0.5% at the end of Monday's trade.

Elsewhere in the region, sentiment was cautious as investors continued to focus on US fiscal challenges.

The Sensex and the Hang Sengthe lost 0.4% each.

Power utilities advanced in Tokyo amid hopes the new government would allow nuclear power plants to restart. Tokyo Electric Power jumped nearly 33%, Kansai Electric Power bounced 17.5% while Kyushu Electric Power was up 12.5%.

A weaker yen boosted demand for exporters. Among the top performers, Sharp Corp. surged 12%, Toshiba Corp. enhanced 3.4%%, Komatsu Ltd. rose around 2.5%.

Nissan Motor advanced 1.8% while Sony and Panasonic were up 1.4% and 2.2% respectively.

Gains, however, were not just restricted to export-oriented firms. Retailers, property developers, financials and resources stocks all cheered the poll results.

Japan Petroleum gained 5.7%, Sumitomo Realty & Development Co. climbed 3.5% while Fast Retailing and Nomura Holdings gained around 3% each.

In Hong Kong, AIA Group eased 0.2% after American International Group began the sale of its remaining stake in the life insurance provider.

Property developers were among other losers. Poly Property Group fell 3% and Sino Land Co. erased 1%.

But hopes of monetary measures from Beijing led to gains in some mainland Chinese firms.

Shanghai-listed China Coal Energy enhanced over 2% while China Shenhua Energy edged up 0.4%.

Some airline stocks were among other notable gainers. Air China advanced 5% while China Eastern Airlines gained 3.7%. Cathay Pacific tacked on a percent.

Stocks in Mumbai drifted lower in the absence of any major economic news. Among top losers, Bharti Airtel was down 3.7%, TCS lost 2.8% and HDFC retreated around 2%.

Kingfisher Airlines dropped 5% as hopes of a potential stake sale to Etihad Airways died out.

On the other side, Sterlite Industries enhanced over 4%, Hindalco Industries scored 3.5%, Jindal Steel followed with a 2.4% gain while Cipla rose 1.3%.

Fortis Healthcare leapt 7% following the company's announcement of a 64% stake sale in Dental Corporation.