(Adds Australian shares and updates with new figures throughout) ---------------------------------------------------------------- Snapshot at: 07:16 / 2116 GMT ---------------------------------------------------------------- Stock Markets
NetChng
NetChng S&P/ASX 200
5,876.20 +19.65 NZSX 50
7,265.05 +20.51 DJIA
20,648.15 -41.09 Nikkei
18,861.27 +51.02 NASDAQ
5,864.48 -34.13 FTSE
7,331.68 +9.86 S&P 500
2,352.95 -7.21 Hang Seng
24,400.80 +139.32 SPI 200 Fut
5,843.00 -16.00 STI
3,176.55 -2.51 SSEC
3,270.20 +47.68 ---------------------------------------------------------------- Bonds
NetChg
NetChg AU 10 YR Bond
2.593 -0.034 US 10 YR Bond
2.339 -0.011 NZ 10 YR Bond
3.115 +0.000 US 30 YR Bond
2.988 -0.004 ---------------------------------------------------------------- Currencies
1700GMT
1700GMT AUD US$
0.7569 0.7579 NZD US$
0.6965 0.6978 EUR US$
1.0664 1.0677 Yen US$
110.71 110.66 ---------------------------------------------------------------- Commodities Gold (Lon)
1,245.80
Silver (Lon)
18.27 Gold (NY)
1,255.47
Light Crude
50.82 TRJCRB Index
186.15 +0.55 ---------------------------------------------------------------- Overnight market action with latest New York figures.
EQUITIES
NEW YORK - Wall Street ended lower on Wednesday after a late-afternoon reversal following signals from the Federal Reserve that it could change its bond investment policy this year, quenching a rally sparked by a strong private-sector jobs report.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI ended down 41.09 points, or 0.2 percent, at 20,648.15, the S&P 500 .SPX lost 7.21 points, or 0.31 percent, to 2,352.95 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC dropped 34.13 points, or 0.58 percent, to 5,864.48.
For a full report, double click on .N
- - - -
LONDON - British shares edged higher on Wednesday, extending gains from the previous session as heavyweight mining and oil stocks rallied, while support services firm DCC DCC.L also gained after agreeing to buy a business in Hong Kong and Macau.
The blue chip FTSE 100 .FTSE index ended up 0.1 percent, outperforming the broader European market thanks to its large proportion of resources-related stocks.
For a full report, double click on .L
- - - -
TOKYO - Japan's Nikkei share average gained on Wednesday as the yen rally paused, although investor caution ahead of an upcoming U.S.-China summit limited the gains.
The Nikkei .N225 rose 0.3 percent to end at 18,861.27.
For a full report, double click on .T
- - - -
SYDNEY - Australian shares are seen following Wall Street lower on Thursday, after the U.S. Federal Reserve signalled it could change its bond investment policy and sparked a sell-down.
Local share price futures YAPcm1 shed 16 points overnight to 5,843 points, a 0.6 percent discount to the underlying S&P/ASX 200 index .AXJO . The benchmark rose 0.3 percent on Wednesday.
- - - -
FOREIGN EXCHANGE
NEW YORK - The U.S. dollar tumbled from three-week highs on Wednesday, as minutes of the latest Federal Reserve meeting suggested the outlook for interest rates had not changed from what the Fed indicated last month after its rate hike decision.
Traders also said there was a bit of profit-taking in the greenback toward the end of the session especially in the dollar-yen currency pair. A break of support at 111 yen triggered stops all the way to 100.70 yen, they added. In late trading, the dollar was down 0.1 percent against the yen at 110.66 yen JPY= .
For a full report, double click on USD/
- - - -
TREASURIES
NEW YORK - U.S. Treasury yields fell on Wednesday, with three- and five-year yields touching more than five-week lows after traders viewed the latest Federal Reserve meeting minutes as indicating the central bank was maintaining an outlook for a gradual pace of interest rate increases.
Yields on Treasuries maturing in three US3YT=RR and five years US5YT=RR fell the most on the day and hit their lowest levels since Feb. 27 of 1.426 percent and 1.837 percent respectively.
For a full report, double click on US/
- - - -
COMMODITIES
GOLD
NEW YORK - Gold fell from one-month highs on Wednesday after better-than-expected U.S. jobs data boosted U.S. bond yields and the dollar but losses were limited after minutes from the Federal Reserve's March policy meeting were released.
Spot gold XAU= was down 0.3 percent at $1,251.74 an ounce at 2:57 p.m. EDT (1857 GMT), while U.S. gold futures GCcv1 ended the session 0.8 percent lower at $1,248.50 an ounce.
For a full report, double click on GOL/
- - - -
BASE METALS
LONDON - Copper rose 2 percent on Wednesday, reflecting strength across base metals following upbeat jobs data from the United States and the return of Chinese buyers after a two-day break.
Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange CMCU3 closed up 2 percent at $5,895 a tonne. A move back through resistance at the 100-day moving average at $5,790 improved its technical picture, traders said.
For a full report, double click on MET/L
- - - -
OIL
NEW YORK - Oil prices settled a shade firmer on Wednesday, easing from one-month highs, as support from an outage at the largest UK North Sea oilfield was offset by a surprise increase in U.S. crude inventories to a record high limited price gains.
Brent futures LCOc1 ended the session up 19 cents, or 0.4 percent, at $54.36 a barrel after earlier touching $55.09, last traded on March 8. U.S. crude CLc1 settled 12 cents, or 0.2 percent, higher at $51.15.
For a full report, double click on O/R
- - - -