Articles

Sales of new cars and trucks in Australia fell a seasonally adjusted 0.5% in February from January, according to industry figures.

The Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries said in its monthly VFACTS report that 80,896 vehicles were sold in February, 1.6% more than in February 2010 in original terms.

Year-to-date industry sales were 154,480 vehicles, down 1.7% or 2,603 vehicles from the same time a year earlier. The FCAI said passenger vehicle sales fell 5.0% in February on year, while sales of sports utilities were up 4.7%.

The total number of Australian houses and apartments approved for construction fell a seasonally adjusted 15.9% in January from December, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said.

Economists had expected on average that total residential building approvals fell 3.0% from the month before. Private-sector house approvals fell a seasonally adjusted 2.4% from a month earlier and fell 18.8% from a year earlier, the ABS said.

Australia's seasonally adjusted trade surplus narrowed to $1.88bn in January from a surplus of $2.02bn in December, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said. The figure is wider than analysts' expectations of a surplus of $1.5bn.

New homes sales rose 2.5% in Jan from Dec according to a report by the Housing Industry Association in conjunction with manufacturing group JELD-WEN.

Detached house sales increased by 2.2% while the sale of multi-units rose 5%. Total detached house sales increased by 3.7% over the three months to Jan 2011 but remained down by 9.8% when compared with the three month period to Jan 2010.

The economy grew solidly in the fourth quarter of 2010, increasing 0.7% from the third quarter and by 2.7% from the year-earlier period, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said.

The main contributors to growth in the quarter were a sharp rise in plant and machinery equipment and a rise in store inventories. A fall in construction detracted from growth.

Civil unrest in the Middle East and a relatively poor domestic reporting season were the hot topics of the month.

The All Ordinaries Index shrugged off the negative sentiment to gain 1.5% and close February at 4,922.6 points. 

Global markets were also generally positive with the Dow Jones Index gaining 2.8%, the FTSE gaining 1.7%, the Hang Seng falling 0.5% and the Nikkei 225 Index gaining 3.8%.

It certainly has been a devastating and tragic January with severe flooding across the country.  The Australian share market has understandably underperformed in comparison to the US for the month.

The All Ordinaries Index gained a meagre 0.1% to close January at 4,850.0 points.  Global markets were mixed for the month with the Dow Jones Index gaining 2.7%, the FTSE falling 0.1%, the Hang Seng gaining 1.8% and the Nikkei 225 Index gaining 0.1%.

Share markets around the world posted a solid month in December capping off an otherwise flat year.

The All Ordinaries Index gained 3.6% to close the year at 4,846.9 points.  Global markets also recorded solid monthly gains in December with the Dow Jones Index gaining 5.2%, the FTSE gaining 6.7%, the Hang Seng gaining 0.1% and the Nikkei 225 Index gaining 2.9%.

Further concerns over European markets weighed on the Australian share market in November.

The All Ordinaries Index fell 1.2% to close at 4,676.4 points.  Global markets (with the exception of Japan) also fell in November with the Dow Jones Index falling 1.0%, the FTSE falling 2.6%, and the Hang Seng falling 0.4%.  The Nikkei 225 Index gained 7.7% for the month.

The Australian share market consolidated recent gains during in October.

The All Ordinaries Index gained 2.1% to close at 4,733.4 points.  Global markets generally performed similarly in October with the Dow Jones Index gaining 3.1%, the FTSE gaining 2.3%, and the Hang Seng gaining 3.2%.  Japan was an exception, with the Nikkei 225 Index falling 4.2% for the month.

During October the major Australian banks reported their earnings, with solid results across the board.