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Stock Markets
S&P/ASX 200 5,384.20 -29.64 NZSX 50 5,096.53 -5.41
DJIA 16,334.99 -16.26 Nikkei 14,830.39 -393.72
NASDAQ 4,320.81 +13.62 FTSE 6,620.90 -64.62
S&P 500 1,866.95 -0.68 Hang Seng 21,901.95 -367.66
SPI 200 Fut 5,368.00 -5.00 TRJCRB Index 302.97 -1.96
Bonds
AU 10 YR Bond 4.130 -0.067 US 10 YR Bond 2.730 -0.036
NZ 10 YR Bond 4.635 +0.000 US 30 YR Bond 3.670 -0.038
Currencies (Prev at 7pm NZST)
AUD US$ 0.8979 0.8955 NZD US$ 0.8475 0.8468
EUR US$ 1.3900 1.3856 Yen US$ 102.70 102.90
Commodities
Gold (Lon) 1366.00 Silver (Lon) 20.970
Gold (NY) 1349.34 Light Crude 97.97
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Overnight market action with latest New York figures.
EQUITIES
NEW YORK - U.S. stocks were little changed on Wednesday, as
equities recouped much of their earlier declines amid signs of
progress in diplomatic attempts to ease tensions surrounding
Ukraine.
The Dow Jones industrial average fell 14.54 points,
or 0.09 percent, to 16,336.71, the S&P 500 lost 2.16
points, or 0.12 percent, to 1,865.47 and the Nasdaq Composite
added 6.291 points, or 0.15 percent, to 4,313.478.
For a full report, double click on .N
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LONDON - Britain's top share index fell to a one-month low
on Wednesday, led down by G4S after the security firm agreed a
settlement with the government over an offenders' tagging
scandal.
The UK benchmark , which had fallen in the last three
sessions, ended down 64.62 points, or 1 percent, at 6,620.90
points, its lowest close since February 10.
For a full report, double click on .L
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TOKYO - Japan's Nikkei share average fell to a one-week low
on Wednesday as investors locked in profits after a recent rally
and as caution over Chinese demand continued to hurt such
commodity-related shares such as mining and metal companies.
The Nikkei ended 2.6 percent lower at 14,830.39
points, the lowest closing level since March 4, and the biggest
daily drop in more than a month. It had hit a five-week high of
15,312.60 last Friday.
The broader Topix index shed 2.1 percent to
1,206.94, with all of its 33 subindexes in negative territory.
For a full report, double click on .T
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FOREIGN EXCHANGE
NEW YORK - Emerging market currencies fell on Wednesday as
investor nervousness over China's economy and Ukraine's future
intensified, rekindling safe-haven bids for the yen and the
Swiss franc.
The yen, steadier so far this year after losing a fifth of
its value against the dollar in 2013, was holding strong in
early U.S. trading, up 0.3 percent against the dollar at 102.75
yen . It was up nearly 0.1 percent against the euro at
142.675 yen .
For a full report, double click on USD/
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TREASURIES
NEW YORK - U.S. Treasuries prices rose in safe-haven bids on
Wednesday as worries surrounding the health of China's economy
overshadowed the U.S. government's upcoming auction of 10-year
Treasury notes.
The 10-year U.S. Treasury note last traded up
9/32 in price to yield 2.734 percent, up in price from a yield
of 2.766 percent late on Tuesday. Bond yields move inversely to
their prices.
For a full report, double click on US/
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COMMODITIES
GOLD
NEW YORK - Gold hit a near six-month high on Wednesday, as
fears of more corporate defaults in China and the geopolitical
tug-of-war between Russia, Ukraine and the West hurt equity
markets, boosting the metal's appeal as an insurance against
risk.
Spot gold rose as much as 1.4 percent to its highest
since Sept. 19 at $1,368.40 an ounce in earlier trading and was
up 1.2 percent at $1,365.50 an ounce by 1457 GMT.
U.S. gold futures also rose to a near six-month high
of $1,369.00 an ounce, before trading at $1,365.70, up 1.4
percent.
For a full report, double click on GOL/
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BASE METALS
LONDON - Copper rebounded from earlier losses on Wednesday
as a sell-off triggered by concerns about the impact of credit
problems in China was considered overdone, but further gains
were capped by lingering worries about the outlook for demand.
Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange (LME) ended
at $6,505 a tonne, up 0.5 percent from Tuesday's close.
For a full report, double click on MET/L
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OIL
LONDON - Brent crude eased towards $108 a barrel on
Wednesday as investors weighed prospects for shrinking fuel
demand in the world's two biggest oil consumers and on plans for
a test oil release from U.S. strategic reserves.
News of Washington's plans for a test sale from its
emergency crude oil reserve added pressure. U.S.
crude lost $1.57 to trade at $98.46 a barrel by 1506 GMT.
Brent crude lost 26 cents to $108.29 a barrel.
For a full report, double click on O/R
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((Australia/New Zealand bureaux; +61 2 9373 1800/+64 4 802
7980))
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