It's been a positive session on the Australian share market even as mining stocks fell:

 

By the close, the All Ords was up 18 points or half a percent, the ASX 200 Index matching that gain. 

 

Turning across the region:

 

And Japan's Nikkei has surged over one and a half percent, and it's a very strong session in Hong Kong as well. The Australian dollar is holding below 90 US cents today against the strengthening greenback.

 

The Chinese Internet giant Alibaba is preparing to list on the New York Stock Exchange tonight. It's set the price of each share at 68 US dollars, valuing the Internet company at almost 168 billion US dollars. Redhot demand for its shares is set to raise around 22 billion US dollars. Last year, the company sold more goods than Amazon and eBay combined. 

 

Microsoft has axed more than 2,000 jobs as part of a campaign to drastically reduce its global workforce. The company is shedding a total of 18,000 staff around the world as it moves away from software to focus on mobile and online technology. Microsoft is also shutting down its research and development center in California's Silicon Valley.