(Add Australian stock market trend)
WELLINGTON/SYDNEY, Dec 14 (Reuters) - - --------------------------------------------------------------- Snapshot at: 07:33 / 2033 GMT ---------------------------------------------------------------- Stock Markets
NetChng
NetChng S&P/ASX 200
5,029.50 -8.22 NZSX 50
6,069.94 +29.38 DJIA
17,265.21 -309.54 Nikkei
19,230.48 +183.93 NASDAQ
4,933.47 -111.71 FTSE
5,952.78 -135.27 S&P 500
2,012.37 -39.86 Hang Seng
21,464.05 -240.56 SPI 200 Fut
4,948.00 -73.00 STI
2,834.63 -13.83 SSEC
3,435.44 -20.05 ---------------------------------------------------------------- Bonds
NetChg
NetChg AU 10 YR Bond
2.821 -0.025 US 10 YR Bond
2.132 +0.000 NZ 10 YR Bond
3.565 -0.010 US 30 YR Bond
2.876 +0.000 ---------------------------------------------------------------- Currencies
1700GMT
1700GMT AUD US$
0.7199 0.7255 NZD US$
0.6703 0.6760 EUR US$
1.0980 1.0945 Yen US$
121.03 121.95 ---------------------------------------------------------------- Commodities Gold (Lon)
1,072.50
Silver (Lon)
13.90 Gold (NY)
1,074.06
Light Crude
35.62 TRJCRB Index
174.86 -2.17 ---------------------------------------------------------------- Overnight market action with latest New York figures.
EQUITIES
NEW YORK - U.S. stocks closed sharply lower on Friday, with the S&P 500 ending its worst week since August, as plunging crude oil prices compounded investor nervousness on expectations for the first U.S. interest rate hike in nearly a decade.
Oil dragged down market as a whole, as investors worried whether a weakness in commodities signaled a broader slowdown.
Furthermore, investors were worried about declines in China's yuan and in high-yield debt markets.
The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI fell 309.54 points, or 1.76 percent, to 17,265.21 with every component in the index ending down. The S&P 500 .SPX lost 39.86 points, or 1.94 percent, to 2,012.37 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC dropped 111.71 points, or 2.21 percent, to 4,933.47.
For a full report, double click on .N
- - - -
LONDON - Britain's top equity index fell to a 10-week low on Friday as investors dumped shares in companies focussed on South Africa following a reshuffle in the country's government.
Commodities shares also came under pressure on concern about the pace of economic recovery in China and a weakness in Chinese yuan, which could hit companies exporting to China.
The Anglo-African financial services company Old Mutual OML.L slumped 10.6 percent after dropping sharply in the previous session, when the rand hit a record low after President Jacob Zuma removed Nhlanhla Nene as finance minister.
The FTSE 100 .FTSE index closed 2.2 percent lower at 5,952.78 points after earlier falling to 5,949.84, the lowest level since late September.
For a full report, double click on .L
- - - -
TOKYO - Japanese stocks rose for the first time in four sessions on Friday, helped by gains on Wall Street and a weaker yen, but investors remained cautious before big events next week.
The Nikkei share average .N225 rose 1 percent to 19,230.48, snapping a three-day losing streak. The benchmark fell 1.4 percent for the week, pressured largely by energy shares on weak oil prices.
The broader Topix .TOPX rose 0.6 percent to 1,549.51 and the JPX-Nikkei Index 400 .JPXNK400 also gained 0.6 percent to 13,942.97.
For a full report, double click on .T
- - - -
SYDNEY - Australian stocks are likely to have a weak start on Monday tracking a decline on Wall Street following another slide in oil prices. Energy and natural resources stocks are likely to come under pressure, with global miner BHP Billiton (L:BLT) BHP.AX expected to open around 4 percent lower after its U.S. ADRs BHP.N tumbled 5.2 percent.
The benchmark index dropped 2.4 percent last week to show a decline of 7 percent so far this year.
Indicating a soft start, stock index futures shed 1.5 percent to 4,948.0, an 81.4-point discount to the close of the underlying S&P/ASX 200 index .AXJO on Friday.
- - - -
FOREIGN EXCHANGE
NEW YORK - The dollar fell on Friday against a basket of currencies as a sell-off on Wall Street and slumping commodity prices overshadowed solid data on U.S. retail sales data and consumer sentiment which may encourage the Federal Reserve to hike interest rates next week.
The greenback initially rose on a November rise in retail sales before turning negative on the view the modest growth in stores spending was not strong enough to support further monetary tightening beyond next week.
The dollar index .DXY fell 0.4 percent at 97.560. On the week, it was down 0.8 percent as Wall Street had a dismal week.
For a full report, double click on USD/
- - - -
TREASURIES
NEW YORK - Yields on long-dated U.S. Treasury debt declined to multiweek lows on Friday, as an extended drop in oil prices and weak stock markets spurred investors to seek the relative safety of government bonds.
The slide in oil prices in particular suggested that inflation remains subdued, which bodes well for the long-end of the curve because it keeps bond returns more or less intact.
Benchmark U.S. 10-year Treasury note yields, which move inversely to prices, dropped to a five-week low, while yields on 30-year bonds fell to a six-week trough.
The 30-year bond US30YT=RR climbed more than 1 point in price to yield 2.877 percent, down from 2.969 percent Thursday. It was the bond yield's worst one-day fall in 2-1/2 months.
U.S. five-year notes fell 16/32 in price to yield 1.572 percent, down from 1.684 percent late on Thursday.
U.S. two-year notes, meanwhile, rose 3/32 in price, yielding 0.899 percent, down from Thursday's yield of 0.959 percent.
For a full report, double click on US/
- - - -
COMMODITIES
GOLD
NEW YORK - Gold prices bounced on Friday, erasing earlier losses as the dollar and U.S. Treasury yields fell, but was still on track for a seventh weekly drop in eight as investors positioned themselves for a likely U.S. rate rise next week.
A rate increase at the Federal Reserve's policy meeting on Dec. 15-16 would be the first in nearly a decade and could dent demand for non-interest paying gold.
"Temporary short squeezes could disturb the long-term downward trend but we still expect prices around $1,000 next week," ABN Amro analyst Georgette Boele said.
For a full report, double click on GOL/
- - - -
BASE METALS
LONDON - Copper marched to a two-week high on Friday, with investors closing out bearish positions as the dollar weakened and following comments that the economy of top metals consumer China may be on the mend.
Copper was set for a second weekly gain while battery metal lead touched its highest level in 1-1/2 months.
Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange CMCU3 closed 2.5 percent firmer at $4,703 a tonne, after hitting the highest since Nov. 26 and extending a modest rise from Thursday.
Aluminium CMAL3 failed to trade in closing activity and was bid down 0.6 percent at $1,482 a tonne as analysts were wary about news that China's top smelters vowed to cut capacity by 500,000 tonnes by year-end.
Zinc CMZN3 also failed to trade in closing rings and was bid up 1.3 percent at $1,551.50 a tonne.
Lead CMPB3 traded 1.1 percent firmer to finish at $1,726 after touching $1,729, its strongest since Oct. 29. Lead added 2.6 percent this week, its third successive weekly gain.
LME nickel CMNI3 climbed 1.7 percent to close at $8,685 and tin CMSN3 added 0.4 percent to $14,600.
For a full report, double click on MET/L
- - - -
OIL
NEW YORK - Oil prices extended their freefall on Friday, flirting with 11-year lows, after the International Energy Agency (IEA) warned that global oversupply of crude could worsen next year.
Brent and U.S. crude's West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures fell as much as 5 percent on the day and 12 percent on the week as mild pre-winter weather and a plummeting U.S. stock market added to the toll on oil prices.
Brent's front month LCOc1 slipped below $38 a barrel for the first time since December 2008, settling down $1.80, or 4.5 percent, at $37.93.
WTI's front-month CLc1 settled in the $35 territory the first time since February 2009. The contract finished the session down $1.14, or 3 percent, at $35.62, after hitting an intraday low at $35.35. WTI's financial crisis low was $32.40 in December 2008.
For a full report, double click on O/R
- - - -