Asia Pacific markets were higher after a stellar performance in US equities saw the Dow, the S&P, and the Nasdaq advance 2.0%, 2.3%, and 2.7% respectively. Positive data flow out of the Eurozone, the UK, and the US, bolstered global equity bourses and supported broad gains for commodities and commodity backed currencies. Impressive Eurozone PMI figures and UK retail sales had set the tone for a positive open in the US ahead of the weekly jobless claims report. An uptick in claims was overshadowed by better than expected existing home sales and a stronger reading on the home price index. Existing sales slowed at a lesser than forecasted pace at -5.1% m/m, beating calls for a drop to -9.9% m/m, while the price index printed at 0.5%. Asia Pacific followed suit, with Hang Seng index and the S&P/ASX 200 index posting gains of 1.1%, and 1.9% respectively. Tokyo stocks snapped five days of loses, with the Nikkei 225 advancing by 2.3% on robust earnings reports out of the US.

Commodities were firmer with gold making another attempt at the $1200 mark, to trade at $1198.70 an ounce early in the session. Crude oil held gains above the $79 handle as a new tropical depression heads towards the Gulf of Mexico and the dollar continues to weaken. The greenback was softer across the board with the exception of the yen, which fell by .25% to 87.20. The aussie kept pressure on the dollar to trade above .8930 while the dollar index fell by .5% to 82.30 at 11am in London.

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