Reuters will cease to publish this item from Monday, May 15. Please contact jane.wardell@thomsonreuters.com with any queries. ----------------------------------------------------------------
07:31 / 1931 GMT ---------------------------------------------------------------- Stock Markets
NetChng
NetChng S&P/ASX 200
5,878.34 +2.90 NZSX 50
7,489.71 +65.51 DJIA
20,907.39 -35.72 Nikkei
19,961.55 +61.46 NASDAQ
6,115.44
7,386.63 +1.39 S&P 500
2,392.92 -6.71 Hang Seng
25,125.55 +110.13 SPI 200 Fut
5,856.00 -9.00 STI
3,271.11 +21.14 SSEC
3,061.74 +8.95 ---------------------------------------------------------------- Bonds
NetChg
NetChg AU 10 YR Bond
2.657 -0.008 US 10 YR Bond
2.391 -0.019 NZ 10 YR Bond
3.055 +0.000 US 30 YR Bond
3.027 -0.015 ---------------------------------------------------------------- Currencies
1700GMT
1700GMT AUD US$
0.7375 0.7365 NZD US$
0.6852 0.6854 EUR US$
1.0862 1.0877 Yen US$
113.82 114.11 ---------------------------------------------------------------- Commodities Gold (Lon)
1,223.15
Silver (Lon)
16.33 Gold (NY)
1,218.65
Light Crude
47.77 TRJCRB Index
180.44 +0.93 ---------------------------------------------------------------- Overnight market action with latest New York figures.
EQUITIES
NEW YORK - U.S. stocks fell on Thursday after worse-than-expected sales drops at Macy's (NYSE:M) and Kohl's sparked a selloff in shares of department stores and stirred fears that consumers are not spending enough to drive strong economic growth.
At 2:44 pm ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI was down 0.12 percent to 20,918.15 points and the S&P 500 .SPX had lost 0.24 percent to 2,393.91.
For a full report, double click on .N
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LONDON - European shares pulled back on Thursday with Spanish blue chips suffering their biggest one-day loss in six months, weighed down by losses among banks, while Italian lender UniCredit shone after solid results.
The DAX fell 0.3 percent, slightly outperforming broader regional indexes, while Spain's IBEX .IBEX lagged with a fall of 1.6 percent, its biggest daily loss since Nov. 10. The pan-European STOXX 600 index fell 0.5 percent, while euro zone blue chips .STOXX50E dropped 0.6 percent.
For a full report, double click on .L
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TOKYO - Japanese stocks rose to their highest level since December 2015, helped by strong earnings from Softbank 9984.T , while the yen remained near its lowest level since March after declining in the last four sessions. The yen has declined more than 5 percent in less than a month, triggering a rally in stocks.
The Nikkei share average .N225 rose 0.3 percent to 19,951.55, its highest close since Dec. 1, 2015, helped by a 2 percent rise in Nikkei heavyweight Softbank after it reported strong earnings.
For a full report, double click on .T
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FOREIGN EXCHANGE
NEW YORK - The dollar fell for the first time in five days against the yen on Thursday, as investors consolidated recent gains, with concerns related to the fallout of U.S. President Donald Trump's unexpected dismissal of Federal Bureau of Investigation chief James Comey also undermining the currency.
In late trading, the dollar fell 0.4 percent against the safe-haven yen to 113.87 yen JPY= . Against the Swiss franc, another safe haven, the dollar fell 0.2 percent to 1.0073 francs CHF= .
For a full report, double click on USD/
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TREASURIES
NEW YORK - The yield on U.S. 30-year Treasury bonds briefly added gains on Thursday following a lukewarm auction of $15 billion in 30-year government bonds, the final leg of the $62 billion May quarterly refunding this week.
The 30-year Treasury yield US30YT=RR was last at 3.044 percent, up marginally from Wednesday's close.
For a full report, double click on US/
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COMMODITIES
GOLD
NEW YORK - Gold rose on Thursday as U.S. and European stock markets retreated, though it pared gains after data showing a tightening jobs market and accelerating inflation briefly lifted the dollar and pulled U.S. bond yields from earlier lows.
Spot gold XAU= was up 0.4 percent at $1,223.6 by 1:52 p.m. EDT (1752 GMT), following eight sessions in which prices have been flat or fallen. Earlier it climbed as high as $1,227.70.
For a full report, double click on GOL/
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BASE METALS
LONDON - Copper prices rose on Thursday as funds cut bearish bets, but the sustainability of gains will depend on industrial activity and investment data from top consumer China next week.
Benchmark copper CMCU3 on the London Metal Exchange finished up 0.8 percent at $5,543 a tonne after touching $5,627.50, its highest since May 3, earlier in the session.
For a full report, double click on MET/L
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OIL
NEW YORK - Oil prices rose more than 1 percent on Thursday, as large drawdowns in U.S. inventories and growing support for continued OPEC output cuts boosted confidence that a seemingly insurmountable glut might finally diminish.
Brent LCOc1 was 69 cents higher, or 1.4 percent, at $50.91 a barrel by 12:07 p.m. EDT (1607 GMT) after hitting a high of $51.16. U.S. light crude oil CLc1 was up 68 cents at $48.01.
For a full report, double click on O/R
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