The Australian Stock Exchange closed early for the Christmas break benefitting from an overnight rise in US led commodities. The ASX 200 was up 1.3% to 5,207 point at the close of play. This is very welcome news for the Australian market which has had varied trading since January. With gains every day for the last seven days, this is the longest winning streak they have seen in nearly a year.
The recent rise in global oil prices is seen to be the main contributor to this Christmas time increase, often referred to as the ‘Santa Surge’. Add this to a general increases in spending due to the Christmas holiday season, the overall impact on the index is positive. Whether this can be sustained through January is a different matter, but it is not going to dampen Australian spirits this year.
It seems that just over the ocean, China has not been part of this rally. The benchmark Shanghai Composite fell by 0.8% after a small early week rally.
In Europe and the USA Christmas Eve will mean a short trading day for most. The news from Australia will be welcomed. In the UK the FTSE 100 closed yesterday at 6,240, up 158 points. In the USA yesterday, the Dow Jones industrial average rose 185.34 points (1.1%) to 17,602.61
