Australian dollar close to parity, stocks up

The Australian dollar has fallen closer to parity with the US dollar as political turmoil continues in Greece.

This morning the Australian dollar was trading at 100.29 US cents, down from 100.27 US cents on Friday.

Concerns about the implications of Greece’s political instability appears to have overshadowed positive news out of China where China’s central bank, the People’s Bank of China, has announced it would cut the ratio of capital reserves required to be held by financial institutions within the country, to stimulate the economy.

Australian stocks opened slightly higher following the move by the Chinese government to ease banking requirements.

At the official market open, the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index inched 0.1% higher to 4,291.2 points and the broader All Ordinaries Index rose 0.14% to 4,348.8 points.

Unlike the dollar, Australian stocks appear to have reacted more favourably to China’s central bank’s announcement that it would cut the ratio of capital reserves required to be held by financial institutions within the country, to stimulate the economy.

This article first appeared on SmartCompany.