On Wednesday European shares rose in early trade, which extended the recent rally, banks leading the way. At 0808 GMT, the FTSEurofirst 300 was up 0.3 percent at 1,038.08 points, after it hit a 14-month closing high in the previous session. The Dow Jones industrial average rose up 50.79 points, ending unofficially at 10,464.93. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index climbed 3.97 points, finishing unofficially at 1,118.02. The Nasdaq Composite Index gained 15.01 points, closing unofficially at 2,252.67. So far this year the Dow Jones has risen 19%, the S&P 500 has jumped 20% while the Nasdaq has gained over 40%. The Nikkei .N225 rose194.56 points to 10,378.03. The Topix jumped 1.3 percent to 903.06.

Fitch has warned Britain and France that they risk losing their AAA status unless they map out a clear path to budget discipline over the next year.  The quarter growth figure for the US economy was revised down to 2.2% from an initial reading of 3.5%. However the market was even more impressed by the jump in house sales. The National Association of Realtors; has reported that in November the sales of existing homes jumped 7.4% to an annual rate of 6.54m units, as first-time buyers rushed to take advantage of tax credit. This was the fastest pace since February 2007, which beat economists’ forecasts of an increase to 6.25m from 6.1m in October. Later today the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) will decide whether it is going to continue its test case against banks over the fairness of their overdraft charges. Last month the Supreme Court ruled that the OFT could not use a part of the unfair consumer contract regulations to decide if bank charges are fair. Despite a stronger dollar oil prices gained as traders cheered Wall Street gains ahead of the holiday season. On Tuesday Gold continued to move downwards with gold for February delivery falling $9.30 and settling to a level of $1,086.70 an ounce. The Dubai Financial Market offered $121m to buy up rival exchange Nasdaq Dubai.

Due for release today is the GBP – MPC Meeting Minutes, CAD – GDP m/m and USD New Home Sales.

By Greg Secker

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