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-----------------------(06:30 / 1930 GMT)-----------------------
Stock Markets
S&P/ASX 200 5,433.84 -6.38 NZSX 50 4,967.51 -4.52
DJIA 16,204.83 -2.31 Nikkei 15,051.60 +213.92
NASDAQ 4,289.34 -3.63 FTSE 6,830.50 -35.36
S&P 500 1,847.58 -0.03 Hang Seng 22,388.56 -71.36
SPI 200 Fut 5,410.00 +0.00 TRJCRB Index 301.48 -0.72
Bonds (Yield)
AU 10 YR Bond 4.070 +0.040 US 10 YR Bond 2.705 -0.045
NZ 10 YR Bond 4.590 -0.005 US 30 YR Bond 3.666 -0.046
Currencies (Prev at 7pm NZST)
AUD US$ 0.9017 0.9024 NZD US$ 0.8333 0.8338
EUR US$ 1.3743 1.3744 Yen US$ 102.12 102.45
Commodities
Gold (Lon) 1339.00 Silver (Lon) 21.730
Gold (NY) 1336.60 Light Crude 101.84
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Overnight market action with latest New York figures.
EQUITIES
NEW YORK - U.S. stocks rose on Tuesday, with the S&P 500
moving within points of record levels, as a pair of retail
stocks rallied following strong results.
The Dow Jones industrial average was up 11.66 points,
or 0.07 percent, at 16,218.80. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index
was up 1.44 points, or 0.08 percent, at 1,849.05. The
Nasdaq Composite Index was up 7.31 points, or 0.17
percent, at 4,300.28.
For a full report, double click on .N
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LONDON - London-listed mining shares fell further on
Tuesday, recording their biggest one-day slide in a month, amid
concern that slower growth and lending curbs on the property
sector in China would hurt metals demand.
Weaker miners put pressure on the blue-chip FTSE 100 index
, which snapped a seven-session winning run. The index,
which touched its highest close in 14 years on Monday, ended 0.5
percent weaker at 6,830.50 points. UK banks fell 1
percent, in line with a broader market sell-off.
For a full report, double click on .L
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TOKYO - The Nikkei average advanced to a four-week closing
high on Tuesday after a rally in Wall Street shares to historic
highs triggered short-covering in battered Japanese stocks.
The Nikkei rose 1.4 percent to 15,051.60, its
highest close since Jan. 29. It has recovered more than 40
percent of its losses since it fell from a six-year peak hit in
late December.
For a full report, double click on .T
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SYDNEY - Australia's stock market will have to take its cue
from a batch of local earnings reports on Wednesday after an
uninspiring performance on Wall Street.
Westfield Group , Lend Lease , AGL ,
Whitehaven Coal and WorleyParsons are due to
announce their results later in the day.
Stock index futures were flat at 5,410.0, a small
discount to the underlying S&P/ASX 200 index which
closed 0.1 percent lower on Tuesday at 5,433.8. The index had
hit a 5-1/2 year high intraday.
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FOREIGN EXCHANGE
NEW YORK - The dollar fell against a basket of major
currencies on Tuesday after soft U.S. consumer confidence data
drove bond yields lower, weakening demand for the U.S. currency.
The dollar index was last trading down 0.11 percent
at 80.11.
The dollar was down against the euro, which last traded up
0.1 percent at $1.3749 . The dollar was also down 0.29
percent against the Japanese yen to trade at 102.2.
For a full report, double click on USD/
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TREASURIES
NEW YORK - U.S. Treasuries' prices rose on Tuesday as
traders focused on a drop in U.S. consumer confidence and
discounted stronger-than-expected data showing U.S. home prices
last year climbed the most since 2005.
Gains were biggest in 30-year Treasury bonds .
After falling on Monday, the issue was up 26/32 of a point in
price after release of The Conference Board's index of consumer
confidence, which showed a disappointing drop in February (Full
Story). That left the 30-year yield at 3.666 percent, compared
with 3.701 percent on Monday.
Benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury notes also rose
and were up 11/32 in price to yield 2.710 percent, down from
2.745 percent on Monday.
For a full report, double click on US/
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COMMODITIES
GOLD
LONDON - Gold climbed to its highest in four months on
Tuesday after disappointing U.S. consumer confidence data
augmented concerns over the pace of U.S. economic recovery.
Spot gold hit its highest since Oct. 31 at $1,340.23
an ounce after the U.S. data release and was trading up 0.1
percent at $1,338.16 an ounce by 1516 GMT.
U.S. gold futures for April delivery also touched a
four-month high of $1,341.00 before trading at $1,339.80 an
ounce, up $1.90.
For a full report, double click on GOL/
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BASE METALS
LONDON - Copper fell for a second day on concern about the
impact of slower growth in China and its volatile property
sector on metal inventories.
Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange
ended down 0.18 percent to $7,064.50 a tonne, after falling 1.1
percent in the previous session.
For a full report, double click on MET/L
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OIL
NEW YORK - U.S. crude oil fell more than $1 per barrel on
Tuesday on expectations that inventories are building and diesel
demand is falling as winter weather eases.
Brent crude fell 80 cents to $109.85 a barrel by
11:25 a.m. EST (1625 GMT), after settling at its highest for the
year in the previous session. U.S. oil dropped $1.26 to
$101.56.
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))
Keywords: MORNINGCALL/UPDATE