Here's my summary of the key news overnight in 90 seconds at 9 am, including news Google accidentally releasesed a weaker-than-expected profit result before the close of trading overnight.
Usually Google's result is released after the close of trading in New York. Google's shares fell as much as 11% before being halted because Google's profit per share of US$9 was much weaker than the consensus forecast for around US$11 a share.
Average advertising revenues per click fell 15% in the last year and were down 3% in the quarter. See more here at Bloomberg.
This surprise miss for Google helped drive the technology stock-heavy Nasdaq index down around 1% in late trade, while the S&P 500, the broadest measure of US stocks, was down around 0.5%.
This slight downturn on US markets reduced appetites for riskier currencies such as the New Zealand dollar, which eased back under 82 USc in morning trade.
Elsewhere, European stocks nudged higher on hopes for an easing of tensions in the European debt crisis. Hopes are rising Spain is on the verge of asking for a bailout, which would trigger the European Central Bank's 'Big Bazooka' of unlimited bond buying.
Spanish and Italian bond auctions overnight received stronger than expected bids and longer term bond yields are dropping, another sign of easing tensions.
Meanwhile, in China, annual GDP growth in the September quarter fell to 7.4%, its lowest level since early 2009, but quarterly growth picked up to 2.2%, a four quarter high. This indicated a rebuilding of momentum in the Chinese economy, which helped support stock markets and riskier currencies globally earlier in trading overnight.
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