The Australian market flew higher last week, after a mountain of good news came out of Europe and the US alike.

The ASX 200 skyrocketed 304 points (+7.6%) to close the week at 4288, making up of all the previous week's losses.

The bulls were in control all week, ensuring every day of the week closed above the previous day.

The news of extra liquidity in the financial system helped the big banks gain. Commonwealth Bank (ASX:CBA) soared 9.2%, while rival ANZ Bank (ASX:ANZ) raced up 11.2%

Easing pressure in the financial system also helped the miners put on solid gains. Rio Tinto (ASX:RIO) jumped 7.1%, BHP (ASX:BHP) advanced 7.6% and Fortescue added 7.8%.

The energy majors surged on the back of stronger oil prices; Santos (ASX:STO) gained 9.1%, while rival Woodside rose only 0.8% after it missed analyst expectations on FY12 production.

Retailers had a good week; JB Hi-Fi put on 4.0%, while David Jones increased 7.8%.

Defensive supermarket giant Woolworth put on 5.1%, while rival Wesfarmers managed a 5.7% gain.

Economic News: What Does it Mean?

The week's major domestic economic releases where retail sales and building approvals data.

October retail sales rose for the fourth consecutive month but came in below expectations.

ABS data showed retail sales increased 0.2%, seasonally adjusted, compared to a forecast rise of 0.4%.

Also released last week were the October building approval figures, which showed a second straight monthly slump.

Approvals were down a whopping 10.7%, coming in sharply below analyst expectations of a 3.6% rise.

The miss in retail sales showed that last month's rate cut had little effect on consumer purchasing.

In the week ahead the RBA will hold its monthly meeting on Tuesday.

There is an expectation of another 0.25% rate cut.

Overseas Market and Commodity Wrap:

Global markets skyrocketed last week, with many indices recording their best weekly gains in over two years.

The major catalyst was the world’s key central banks agreeing on coordinated action to ease the increasing strains on the global financial system.

Some of the biggest gainers in Europe were the UK FTSE (+7.5%), the German DAX (+10.7%) and the French CAC (+10.8%).

Aiding the surge in global markets, U.S retailers racked up record sales over the Thanksgiving Day weekend.

The US markets finished sharply higher, with the Dow (+7.0%), Nasdaq (+7.6%) and S&P 500 (+7.4%) all recording huge rallies.

Asia also took part in the global surge; the Hang Seng jumped 7.6% and the Nikkei soared 5.9%.

Commodities also profited from the improved sentiment, with palladium (+14.0%) and copper (+9.1%) some of the big gainers.

Oil and gold both enjoyed a strong week, with a 4.3%, and 3.9% climb, respectively.

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Trading Markets Weekly Commentary: December 5 is a post from: Australian Stock Report Market Pulse Blog