Easing concerns over Europe's debt problems helped the Aussie market finish off last week on a positive note.

The big plunge on Monday was mostly erased towards the end of the week as the world's central banks stepped into ease liquidity problems in the European sector.

The ASX 200 shed 45 points (-1.1%) for the week, closing at 4149.

In the mining space, BHP Billiton (ASX:BHP) closed up 0.9% whilst Rio Tinto (ASX:RIO) ended flat.

Sundance Resources (ASX:SDL) was rocked by allegations of insider trading against the directors of potential suitor, Hanlong.

The stock was smashed early before recovering to finish the week up 1.1%, as concerns eased the takeover will be scuppered.

The big banks were hit amid fears their European counterparts will be suffer major losses due to their sovereign debt exposure.

Commonwealth Bank (ASX:CBA) slumped 3.9% and National Australia Bank (ASX:NAB) fell 2%.

Among the retailers, Myer Holdings (ASX:MYR) sank 8% after forecasting a disappointing FY12 profit outlook.

Economics

Last week's mixed batch of economic data highlighted a disconnect between Australian businesses and consumers.

On Monday, data showed Australia's trade surplus widening to $1.83 billion in July, from $1.82 billion in June. The result slightly missed economist estimates of a $1.9 billion surplus.

Total exports and imports both fell in July, however commodity demand from Asia prevented a much bigger fall in exports.

Coal shipments were down for the month, whilst the strong Aussie dollar saw a healthy rise in capital equipment imports.

However the solid trade result was overshadowed by the NAB business confidence survey, which showed confidence plunging to depths not seen since 2009.

The business confidence index fell 10 points in August to -8. Business conditions fell 2 points to -3.

The manufacturing, retail and construction sectors reported the worst conditions, offset partly by stronger conditions in the mining sector.

The dramatic fall in confidence doesn't portend well for near-term business investment, and by extension, the domestic jobs market.

Yet in somewhat of a surprise, the Westpac Consumer Sentiment survey showed confidence rebounding sharply in September, reversing the prior month's fall.

The consumer sentiment index rose 8.1% to 96.9. In August, the index fell to 89.6, which was the lowest point since May 2009.

The rise in confidence reflected recent comments by the RBA, which signalled it is in no rush to raise interest rates. Last week’s strong 2Q GDP result also provided a boost to sentiment.

The consumer sentiment data suggests a rate cut by the RBA may be the catalyst for a rebound in spending, delivering some hope to the beleaguered business sector.

Overseas

Global markets enjoyed strong gains last week amid hopes policy-makers will work to contain Europe's debt contagion.

Investors were buoyed by a coordinated central bank move to provide liquidity to the Europe's banks.

A joint pledge by Germany and France to keep Greece inside the eurozone also provided a much needed boost to confidence.

European markets rose on the back of last week's developments. The FTSE put on 2.9%, the French CAC was up 1.9% whilst the German DAX soared 7.4%.

In the US, the Dow rose 4.7%, the S&P500 closed up 5.4% and the Nasdaq jumped 6.2%.

Wall Street's focus this week will be on the Fed's FOMC meeting, with traders anticipating a new form of monetary stimulus will be announced by policy-makers.

The key Chinese markets didn't participate in last week's rally amid concerns the country's economy will suffer in the event of a global downturn.

The Hang Seng shed 2.1%, the Shanghai Composite let go of 0.6% whilst the Nikkei advanced 1.4%.

Among the commodities, gold fell 2.4% due to reduced demand for safe-haven assets. Oil inched up 0.8% for the week.

Weekly Investors Markets Wrap: September 19 is a post from: Australian Stock Report Market Pulse Blog