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WELLINGTON, Dec 11 (Reuters) - - --------------------------------------------------------------- Snapshot at: 07:42 / 1842 GMT ---------------------------------------------------------------- Stock Markets
NetChng
NetChng S&P/ASX 200
5,037.72 -42.74 NZSX 50
6040.56 -13.00 DJIA
17,620.28 +127.98 Nikkei
19,046.55 -254.52 NASDAQ
5,054.00 +31.13 FTSE
6,088.05 -38.63 S&P 500
2,059.18 +11.56 Hang Seng
21,704.61 -99.15 SPI 200 Fut
5,031.00 -7.00 STI
2,848.46 -12.73 SSEC
3,456.38 -16.06 ---------------------------------------------------------------- Bonds
NetChg
NetChg AU 10 YR Bond
2.869 +0.006 US 10 YR Bond
2.227 +0.019 NZ 10 YR Bond
3.545 +0.000 US 30 YR Bond
2.963 +0.002 ---------------------------------------------------------------- Currencies
1700GMT
1700GMT AUD US$
0.7293 0.7282 NZD US$
0.6752 0.6738 EUR US$
1.0942 1.0990 Yen US$
121.51 121.63 ---------------------------------------------------------------- Commodities Gold (Lon)
1,071.00
Silver (Lon)
14.13 Gold (NY)
1,072.81
Light Crude
37.06 TRJCRB Index
177.47 -0.09 ----------------------------------------------------------------
Overnight market action with latest New York figures.
EQUITIES
NEW YORK - Wall Street pared some of its gains as oil prices fell on Thursday, but remained in positive territory as investors scoured for bargains ahead of a widely expected U.S. interest rate hike next week. Major U.S. stock indexes have had a bruising week as a rout in oil prices took a toll on the energy sector.
At 12:28 p.m. ET (1728 GMT) the Dow Jones industrial average .DJI was up 59.02 points, or 0.34 percent, at 17,551.32, the S&P 500 .SPX was up 4.67 points, or 0.23 percent, at 2,052.29 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC was up 15.64 points, or 0.31 percent, at 5,038.50.
For a full report, double click on .N
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LONDON - Britain's stock market fell for the sixth session in a row on Thursday as a slump in Sports Direct SPD.L and financial services group Old Mutual OML.L weighed on the market.
However, miner Glencore GLEN.L surged on debt reduction plans, helping to lift other mining stocks.
The blue-chip FTSE 100 index .FTSE closed down 0.6 percent at 6,088.05 points - its lowest closing level since early October.
Sports Direct was the worst-performing FTSE stock in percentage terms, slumping 11 percent after its first-half earnings missed market expectations.
For a full report, double click on .L
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TOKYO - Japan's Nikkei share average fell to a five-week closing low on Thursday as a sudden surge in the yen hit shares of exporters such as Fanuc 6954.T and Honda Motor 7267.T , though trading volume was low.
The Nikkei fell 1.3 percent to 19,046.55 .N225 , its lowest close since Nov 4, while the broader Topix .TOPX shed 1.0 percent to 1,540.35, also a five-week low. The JPX-Nikkei Index 400 .JPXNK400 dropped 1.0 percent.
The turnover at the Tokyo Stock Exchange's main board was 2.19 trillion yen, about 14 percent below its average over the past year.
For a full report, double click on .T
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FOREIGN EXCHANGE
NEW YORK - The dollar rose on Thursday as markets refocused on an expected interest rate increase from the Federal Reserve and pushed the greenback up from one-month lows against the euro and yen.
The dollar regained part of Wednesday's losses of more than 1 percent, which came after comments on Tuesday from the European Central Bank's Ewald Nowotny that added to doubts about further policy divergence between the United States and Europe.
Markets were largely expecting the Fed to tighten monetary policy and the ECB to ease this month, and while the European bank did reduce its deposit interest rate, the cut was below expectations. Nowotny's comments extended fears the ECB may not take further action.
The dollar index .DXY , which measures the greenback against six major rivals, rose 0.49 percent, to 97.824.
The euro EUR= fell 0.5 percent against the dollar to $1.0963. The dollar was flat against the yen JPY= .
For a full report, double click on USD/
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TREASURIES
NEW YORK - U.S. long-dated Treasury debt yields edged lower on Thursday in thin trading, weighed by a slump in oil prices, which suggested that inflation would remain benign.
A rise in weekly U.S. jobless claims added to pressure on yields, with both benchmark 10-year note and 30-year bond yields dipping to session lows.
Yields on the short-end, on the other hand, were little changed to slightly higher on the day, supported by expectations of an impending interest rate hike by the Federal Reserve, which would be the first rate increase in nine years.
But it has been the decline in the price of oil that continues to roil the Treasury market.
In late morning trading, U.S. 10-year notes US10YT=RR fell 4/32 in price to yield 2.223 percent, slightly down from Wednesday's 2.224 percent. Yields on the 10-year hit the day's low of 2.206 percent after U.S. jobless claims increased 13,000 to 282,000 for the week ended Dec. 5, the highest since early July.
For a full report, double click on US/
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COMMODITIES
GOLD
NEW YORK - Gold edged lower on Thursday and was vulnerable to further weakness as the dollar rebounded and ahead of a widely anticipated U.S. interest rate rise next week.
The Federal Reserve is expected to raise rates for the first time in nearly a decade at its next policy meeting on Dec. 15-16. Higher rates should dent demand for non-interest-paying gold, which has already lost 9 percent of its value this year and is on track for its third year of losses.
Spot gold XAU= was down 0.1 percent at $1,071.15 an ounce by 1541 GMT, while U.S. gold futures GCcv1 were down 0.5 percent at $1,070.80 an ounce.
For a full report, double click on GOL/
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BASE METALS
LONDON - Aluminium prices stagnated on Thursday on disappointment over the scope of production cutbacks in China, while a firmer dollar also weighed on the industrial metals market. Aluminium producer China Hongqiao Group 1378.HK said it would shut down 250,000 tonnes of production capacity starting on Thursday as Chinese producers look to combat a slump in local prices to record lows. But analysts said much more was needed to curb an oversupplied market that has led to global inventories surging to record highs. Three-month aluminium CMAL3 on the London Metal Exchange closed up 0.03 percent at $1,490.50 a tonne after hovering in the red for most the day. It rose nearly 1 percent on Wednesday.
LME copper CMCU3 ended up 0.2 percent at $4,590 a tonne, holding above a 6-1/2 year low of $4,443.50 touched last month.
Zinc CMZN3 closed down 0.1 percent at $1,532 a tonne, while lead CMPB3 added 0.4 percent to end at $1,708, tin CMSN3 dipped 0.1 percent to finish at $14,540 and nickel CMNI3 slid 1.6 percent to $8,540.
For a full report, double click on MET/L
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OIL
NEW YORK - Crude oil prices extended their slide on Thursday to near seven-year lows as traders looked beyond a drop in U.S. crude stockpiles to focus on a global supply glut, while a stronger dollar weighed on commodities.
U.S. gasoline futures were the only bright spot on the petroleum complex, rallying on concerns over a refinery outage and possible cuts in production.
Brent LCOc1 was down 57 cents at $39.54 by 11:57 a.m. EST (1657 GMT), hitting a near-seven year low at $39.50.
WTI CLc1 was down 45 cents at $36.71 a barrel, after reaching a February 2009 low of $36.52.
U.S. gasoline RBc1 jumped more than 3 percent after reports that BP's 405,000-bpd Whiting catalytic reformer unit was shut on Wednesday at just before midnight New York time.
For a full report, double click on O/R
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