It was another mixed night for international markets last evening, although no major index moved more than three quarters of a percent.

In Europe the FTSE shed four points to settle at 5961, whilst the CAC (-0.5%) and DAX (flat) also had soft sessions.

Stateside, the Dow Jones added seven points to settle at 13239, whilst the S&P advanced six points (+0.4%) and the Nasdaq jumped 0.75%.

The US Midwest manufacturing index rose from 89.0 to 90.1 In January. The National Association of Home Builders sentiment index was unchanged at 28 in March – the highest level since June 2007.

The Aussie dollar held firm around the US$1.06 handle, whilst the Dollar Index fell to a one-week low as traders sold the US currency in favour of the Swiss franc, triggering automatic sell orders for the pair that further weighed on the greenback.

Oil advanced, adding US$1.03 (+1.0%) to US$108.09 a barrel. Base metals rose modestly with the exception of lead which shed 0.3%. Gold also rose slightly, up 0.4% to US$1665 an ounce.

Sydney Airports releases traffic data today whilst the market will also be in receipt of the CB leading index (10:00am, AEDT) and the latest RBA monetary policy meeting minutes (11:30am, AEDT).

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Morning Market Commentary: Another Mixed Night is a post from: Australian Stock Report Market Pulse Blog