What you need2know:

• SPI futures down 30 pts at 5347

• AUD at 87.78 US cents, 94.10 Japanese yen, 69.45 Euro cents and 54.72 British pence.

• S&P 500 -0.7%, Dow -0.9%, Nasdaq -0.8%

• In Europe, Euro Stoxx 50 +0.6%, FTSE +0.4%, CAC +0.6%, DAX +0.6%

• Spot gold falls 0.4% to $US1244.04 an ounce

• Iron ore adds 0.3% to $US81.83 per metric tonne

• Brent oil slips 1.5% to $US84.72 per barrel

What’s on today

Australia speech by Reserve Bank of Australia governor Glenn Stevens; US home prices, flash manufacturing PMI; China flash manufacturing PMI; Europe flash manufacturing PMI.

Stocks to watch

Deutsche Bank has a “buy” recommendation on Stockland and a $4.50 a share target price after it announced the sale of a 50 per cent interest in Townsville Shopping Centre to an AMP Capital managed fund.

Morningstar has an “accumulate” on Mesoblast, a medical research and development company. It puts a “very high” fair value uncertainty on the stock and has a fair value share price of $7.

Currencies

The greenback has reached a one-week high against its major peers as an unexpected rise in the US cost of living in September underscored the strength of the world’s largest economy amid a slowdown in global growth.
The US currency advanced for a fifth day versus the yen, the longest streak in more than a month. The euro fell against most major peers as investors weighed the prospects of additional easing policies from the European Central Bank.

Senior lawmakers from Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservative party heaped criticism on the European Central Bank on Wednesday following a Reuters report that it was considering the purchase of corporate bonds to spur growth. The report on Tuesday, citing several sources familiar with the central bank's thinking, said the ECB could decide as soon as December to go ahead with corporate bond buys on the secondary market, with a view to starting the purchases early next year.

Commodities

Oil prices resumed their deep downward march on Wednesday, with US crude again nearing $US80 a barrel after data showing a second big jump in weekly US crude stockpiles broke a brief period of tentative consolidation.

Gold fell, snapping a two-day rise as weak US inflation data and a dollar rise prompted bullion investors to take profits after the previous session's six-week high.

Gold buying in No. 1 consumer China has weakened after prices rose earlier in the week, dealers said, while Indian demand is also likely to be lower following the festival of Diwali on Wednesday. China and India dominate the world physical gold market, accounting for more than half of global fabrication demand.

United States

US stocks were lower in afternoon trading on Wednesday, with major indexes erasing earlier gains as a shooting at the Canadian parliament unnerved investors and Boeing and Biogen sold off following results.

Indexes had traded in positive territory for much of the session, putting the S&P 500 on track for a fifth straight day of gains. Earnings initially drove the move higher, with technology and material shares up on the back of strong results.

Boeing Co lost 4.1 per cent to $US121.91 despite reporting higher-than-expected earnings and lifting its outlook, as analysts raised concern about the costs of the 787 Dreamliner. Its decline comes after a rise of 5.8 percent over the four previous sessions.

In the latest economic data, consumer prices rose 0.1 per cent in September as energy costs fell broadly, painting a weak inflation picture that could give the Federal Reserve room to keep interest rates low for a while.

Europe

Europe's main stock markets have pushed upwards, helped by speculation that central banks may take further stimulation measures and put off rate hikes to support global economic growth.

"Shares in Europe were mostly rising today although not at the frenetic pace of yesterday with the European Central Bank denying rumours of further stimulus ... leaving investors undecided whether to believe the rumour or the denial," said CMC Markets UK analyst Jasper Lawler.

Total shares ended up 0.37 per cent at 44.59 euros after the French oil group had named Patrick Pouyanne, currently head of refining and chemicals, as its new chief executive. The nomination came after chief executive Christophe de Margerie died in a plane crash in Moscow on Monday.

What happened yesterday

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index rose 60.9 points, or 1.1 per cent to 5385.9, taking its gains since its recent low on October 13 to 5.15 per cent. The broader All Ordinaries Index rose 61 points, or 1.1 per cent, to 5373.

Materials, consumables and industrials underpinned the market’s rise, while the utility sector was the worst performer of the day.