International markets put in a mixed performance in what was ultimately a lacklustre session overnight.

US stocks closed mostly higher, with the exception of the Dow, which was dragged down by disappointing earnings results from IBM.

The Dow fell 41 points (-0.3%) to 16373, the S&P500 added one point (+0.1%) to 1845 and the Nasdaq rose 17 points (+0.4%) to 4243.

Trading was more subdued in Europe, with investors there cautious ahead of a deluge of important manufacturing data due for release tonight.

The UK FTSE and German DAX shed 0.1% each whilst the French CAC ended flat.

In the commodities complex, oil soared 1.8% to US$96.65 a barrel as traders looked ahead to tonight's supply support, which is expected to reveal another drop in weekly US crude stockpiles.

The Aussie dollar enjoyed a solid gain versus its US counterpart after yesterday's domestic inflation data hosed down speculation of another RBA rate cut.

Elsewhere, the Canadian dollar was sold off after the Bank of Canada warned of weaker inflation, whilst the British Pound strengthened after data revealed a bigger-than-expected drop in the UK jobless rate.

The key economic focus for regional investors will be the latest HSBC Flash Manufacturing PMI, due for release at 12:45pm, AEDT.

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