US blue-chip stocks eked out a tiny gain on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve kept interest rates at record lows, supporting a rise in JP Morgan Chase, but energy companies Chevron and Exxon slid as oil-prices fell.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average edged up 4.92 points (0.05%) to 10,298.4, paring an early jump after the Fed's statement prompted the euro to strengthen.
Energy stocks including Chevron, Halliburton and Schlumberger led US stocks broadly lower on Tuesday after the White House vowed to appeal a judge's decision to block the six-month moratorium on new deepwater drilling projects.
A pledge from China to make its exchange rate more flexible boosted materials companies including Alcoa and United States Steel and industrials such as 3M, but gains elsewhere fizzled out as a cut to BNP Paribas's debt rating reminded investors of Europe's economic woes.
US stocks edged higher on Friday as a report from Caterpillar of strong machine sales in Asia boosted other companies with global operations, although a resolution to the sparring between Walgreen and CVS Caremark weighed on some health-care companies that were expected to benefit from the dispute.
US stocks rose on a late rally that came despite disappointing US economic data, as gains in the euro after a successful Spanish bond auction helped lift companies that export to Europe, including Caterpillar, Kraft and Chevron.
Annual wage rises under all enterprise agreements struck in the fourth quarter of 2009 averaged 4%, up from a revised 3.6% in the third quarter, the Department of Employment said.
In the private sector, annual wage rises under enterprise agreements certified in the fourth quarter averaged 3.9%, up from a revised 3.7% in the third quarter. For public sector employees, the average annual wage increase under enterprise agreements struck in the three months to Dec. 31 was 4.2%, up from a revised 3.6% in the third quarter.
US stocks closed mixed on Wednesday as gains in American Express and Caterpillar helped push the Dow Jones Industrial Average slightly higher, but the Standard & Poor's 500 index was weighed down by consumer stocks, including homebuilder PulteGroup, following a bigger-than-expected drop in housing starts.
The total number of houses and apartments that started construction in the first quarter of 2010 rose 4.3% from the fourth quarter of 2009 to a seasonally adjusted 42,399.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics also reported that the number of private-sector houses started in the first quarter fell 2.4% from the previous quarter to 27,845. The trend estimate for the total number of housing starts, which further smoothes the seasonally adjusted numbers, rose 8.7% from the fourth quarter to 42,683.
US stocks rallied on Tuesday, erasing the Standard & Poor's 500 loss for the year as strong notebook-computer sales from Best Buy lifted technology companies such as Microsoft while lower delinquencies from credit-card issuers including American Express also provided a boost.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 213.88 (2.10%) to 10,404.77, its highest close since May 19 and the fifth time this year the Dow had a one-day gain of more than 200 points. However, the measure is still off 0.22% for the year.
The value of personal finance issued in April fell 0.6% after seasonal adjustment from March to $6.81bn, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said.
The decline in personal finance comprised a 1.7% fall in revolving credit and a 0.7% rise in fixed lending. Commercial finance rose 5.6% in April in seasonally adjusted terms from March to $31.6bn.
A fall of 17.1% in revolving credit for commercial finance was accompanied by a rise of 15.8% in fixed-lending commitments. Lease finance fell by 8.0% in April after seasonal adjustment to $353m.