The Australian dollar has risen after the release of some encouraging economic data from Germany and the US.

At 0700 AEDT on Friday, the Australian dollar was trading at 106.84 US cents, up from 106.47 cents on Thursday.

Since 1700 AEDT on Thursday, the local unit has traded between 106.44 US cents and 107.16 cents.

On Thursday night, Australian time, it was reported that the number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits last week hadn't changed and remained at its lowest level in four years.

There was more good economic data, with a German business confidence index rising for the fourth consecutive month.

Westpac New Zealand senior market strategist Imre Speizer said the Australian dollar and stock markets had had a solid rise overnight.

"Data from Germany and the US gave risk markets a bit of a boost," he said.

Locally, on Friday morning, Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) governor Glenn Stevens will appear before the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Economics.

The market will be watching for clues regarding the interest rate outlook after the RBA's surprise decision not to cut the cash rate at its February 7 board meeting.

Mr Speizer said the main event for financial markets in the coming week would be the launch of the European Central Bank's long-term financing operation (LTRO) on February 29.

The December LTRO resulted in 489 million euros ($A611 million) in cheap loans being handed out to European banks and it is unclear how much will be issued on Wednesday.

"Ahead of that, the Australian dollar won't have massive moves in either direction, Mr Speizer said.

Mr Speizer said he expected the Australian dollar to trade as high as 107.50 US cents on Friday.

NEW YORK - Wall Street stocks opened lower after retailers reported disappointing earnings and computer maker Hewlett-Packard issued a weak profit forecast, but turned positive after reports the number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits was unchanged.

The Dow Jones industrial average was down 31 points to 12,906 a few minutes after the opening bell on Thursday.

The Standard & Poor's 500 index was off three points at 1,354 and the Nasdaq composite fell six points to 2,927.
But, by 0657 Friday AEDT, the Dow was up 29.06 points at 12,967.70, the Standard & Poor's 500 up 3.47 points at 1,361.13 and the Nasdaq composite up 15.47 points at 2,948.64

LONDON - European stock markets closed mostly flat to lower on Thursday although the euro rose as investors reviewed mixed earnings from the region's biggest banks and forecasts for a eurozone recession.

Dealers said the markets were tracking developments in Greece as politicians passed a historic debt writedown with private creditors, key to securing a hard-won 237 billion euros ($A296.12 billion)- bailout approved by eurozone ministers on Tuesday.

In London, the benchmark FTSE 100 index of leading companies bucked the trend to gain 0.36 per cent at 5,937.89 points while in Frankfurt, the DAX 30 fell 0.50 per cent to 6,809.46 points and in Paris the CAC 40 was virtually unchanged at 3,447.31 points.

The euro climbed to $US1.3311 from $US1.3252 in New York late Wednesday, helped by strong business confidence data in Germany, Europe's powerhouse economy.

HONG KONG - Asian shares were mixed as concerns about Greece's debt crisis returned to worry investors but domestic factors also came into play.

Hong Kong's benchmark Hang Seng Index dropped 0.78 per cent or 168.29 points to 21,380.99 but the Shanghai Composite Index, which covers both A and B shares, ended up 0.25 per cent or 5.96 points at 2,409.55 - its highest close for almost three months.

In mainland China a cut in bank reserves announced at the weekend takes effect on Friday, but analysts believe Beijing needs to give the domestic economy another boost.

WELLINGTON - New Zealand shares were mixed, with as many gaining stocks as decliners on the NZX 50 Index.

The NZX 50 fell 5.07 points, or 0.2 per cent to 3323.15, having flitted between gains and losses during the day.