Global markets were mixed overnight with gains in Europe countered by some weakness in the U.S.

European stocks rose to the highest level in more than five years as the Federal Reserve unexpectedly decided against slowing the pace of its monthly bond purchases.

Having missed the move higher due to the timing of the Fed announcement, European markets followed through last night with the FTSE adding 67 points (+1%) to 6625 and the DAX putting on 58 points (+0.7%) to 8694.

U.S. stocks fell after the Standard & Poor's 500 Index rallied to a record in the previous session on the Federal Reserve's decision to refrain from cutting stimulus as investors weighed the latest batch of economic reports.

Gold rose to a one-week high in London after the Federal Reserve maintained the pace of U.S. bond purchases, boosting demand for the metal as a store of value. Silver and palladium advanced.

Bullion for immediate delivery rose 0.2% to settle at $1,366.36 an ounce in New York. Earlier, the price reached $1,375.81, the highest since September 10.

Crude fell for the fourth time in five days as Libya's oil output increased and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said he will provide international inspectors access to chemical weapons facilities.

Oil for October delivery, which expires tomorrow, slid $1.68 to settle at $106.39 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, the biggest drop since September 10.

There is no major local data due out during today's session.

Morning Market Analysis: Soft Start Ahead is a post from: Australian Stock Report Market Pulse Blog