US stocks closed slightly lower on Thursday, snapping a seven-day winning streak, despite a late-session boost from news about a halt in the BP oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico and expectations of a settlement between Goldman Sachs and regulators.
Blue-chip stocks declined as disappointing economic data and the passage of a major financial-overhaul bill weighed.
Inflationary expectations declined slightly in July, according to an industry survey.
The Melbourne Institute Survey of Consumer Inflationary Expectations median expected inflation rate in July declined to 3.3% from 3.4% in June. In addition, the proportion of consumers expecting inflation to be within the Reserve Bank of Australia's targeted 2% to 3% inflation band rose to 19.1% in July from 17.5% in June.
A strong earnings report from Intel boosted US blue-chip stocks on Wednesday, extending the Dow Jones Industrial Average's winning streak to seven sessions.
Still, the Dow's gain was slim and the broader Standard & Poor's 500 index snapped a six-day streak as optimism over the pace of corporate earnings gave way to a chilly economic forecast from the Federal Reserve.
The Australian consumer remains one of the strongest in the world, according to two reports published, providing further fuel to the growing rate hike expectations going into the Reserve Bank of Australia's next meeting in early August.
An index of consumer sentiment rose 11.1% in July from June. The index rose to 113.1 points in July in seasonally adjusted terms from 101.9 points in June, compilers Westpac Banking Corp. and the Melbourne Institute said.
US stocks shot higher on Tuesday, extending the recent winning streak to six sessions as better-than-expected earnings from Alcoa and CSX boosted expectations for upcoming reports from bellwethers like Caterpillar.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 146.75 points (1.44%) to 10,363.02. Caterpillar, which reports results on July 22, was the measure's best performer, rising $2.51 (3.9%) to $66.79.
The value of personal finance rose 0.1% in May after seasonal adjustment from April to $6.79bn, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said.
The rise in personal finance comprised a 0.4% increase in revolving credit and a 0.2% fall in fixed lending. Commercial finance fell 1.1% in May in seasonally adjusted terms from April to $30.66bn. A rise of 13.1% in revolving credit for commercial finance was accompanied by a fall of 5.8% in fixed-lending commitments. Lease finance increased by 11.8% in May after seasonal adjustment to $400m.
Business confidence was little changed in June after a substantial fall in May, with weakness in the mining and manufacturing sectors offset by better readings in retail and wholesale confidence, according to a monthly survey by the National Australia Bank.
US stocks edged up on Monday, led by technology stocks, including Microsoft and SanDisk, following ratings upgrades from analysts, although jitters over second-quarter earnings reports and disappointing import data from China weighed on Alcoa and other materials stocks.
A recent downtrend in housing activity showed signs of levelling out in May as data found home loan financing rose for the first time since September 2009.
The number of housing-finance approvals rose a seasonally adjusted 1.9% in May from April, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said. First home buyers accounted for 16.1% of new home loans in May, down from 28.5% a year ago in a period that was marked by a frenzy of buying helped by economic stimulus.
US stocks climbed on Friday, extending their bounce back from the previous week's slump and marking their best week in nearly a year. Alcoa, Caterpillar and Bank of America were among the gainers in the rally, propelled by improving expectations for the second-quarter earnings season kicking off on Monday.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 59.04 points (0.58%) to 10,198.03, its fourth-straight session in positive territory. For the week, the Dow jumped 5.28%, its biggest weekly gain since the week ended July 17, 2009.