Market Update: Despite the US equity markets closed slightly lower overnight, the ASX 200 continued to trade higher during the session to be up 1.1% at 5,124...

Market Update: Despite the US equity markets closed slightly lower overnight, the ASX 200 continued to trade higher during the session to be up 1.1% at 5,124 points after a record trade surplus was recorded in December. Financials were strong with all the major banks rising between 1.4% to 1.6%. Miners were also buoyant with BHP up 0.8% and RIO gained 1.8%. The AUD spiked closing in towards USD 0.90. It is currently trading at USD 0.8962. The SPI was up 1.0% at 5,069 points on the Sydney Futures Exchange.