----------------------------------------------------------------
07:11 / 1911 GMT ---------------------------------------------------------------- Stock Markets
NetChng
NetChng S&P/ASX 200
5,323.34 -32.82 NZSX 50
6,903.60 -79.0 DJIA
17,435.80 -90.82 Nikkei
16,646.66 +1.97 NASDAQ
4,708.48 -30.64 FTSE
6,053.35 -112.45 S&P 500
2,038.70 -8.93 Hang Seng
19,694.33 -132.08 SPI 200 Fut
5,332.00 -13.00 STI
2,740.11 -37.00 SSEC
2,807.33 -0.18 ---------------------------------------------------------------- Bonds
NetChg
NetChg AU 10 YR Bond
2.326 -0.043 US 10 YR Bond
1.850 -0.033 NZ 10 YR Bond
2.730 +0.000 US 30 YR Bond
2.641 -0.046 ---------------------------------------------------------------- Currencies
1700GMT
1700GMT AUD US$
0.7219 0.7208 NZD US$
0.6743 0.6742 EUR US$
1.1199 1.1222 Yen US$
109.92 110.16 ---------------------------------------------------------------- Commodities Gold (Lon)
1,246.25
Silver (Lon)
16.49 Gold (NY)
1,257.90
Light Crude
48.13 TRJCRB Index
183.88 -1.52 ---------------------------------------------------------------- Overnight market action with latest New York figures.
EQUITIES
NEW YORK - The S&P 500 and Dow touched two-month lows on Thursday, a day after hawkish comments from the Federal Reserve suggested interest rates could be hiked as early as June.
At 12:50 p.m. ET (1650 GMT), the Dow Jones industrial average .DJI was down 150.21 points, or 0.86 percent, at 17,376.41, the S&P 500 .SPX was down 17.17 points, or 0.84 percent, at 2,030.46 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC was down 50.31 points, or 1.06 percent, at 4,688.81.
For a full report, double click on .N
- - - -
LONDON - UK shares fell on Thursday after the disappearance of an EgyptAir flight and a drop in summer bookings for Thomas Cook TCG.L weighed on the travel sector, while mining shares also dipped.
The blue chip FTSE 100 index .FTSE dropped 112.45 points, or 1.8 percent, to 6,053.35 points by the close, underperforming the broader European market.
For a full report, double click on .L
- - - -
TOKYO - Japan's Nikkei share average ended little changed on Thursday, moving in and out of positive territory as general caution offset some gains from Federal Reserve minutes that boosted the dollar and weakened the yen.
The Nikkei .N225 ended flat at 16,646.66.
For a full report, double click on .T
- - - -
FOREIGN EXCHANGE
NEW YORK - The U.S. dollar rose slightly against the euro and Swiss franc on Thursday after the president of the New York Federal Reserve said the central bank was on track for a rate hike in June or July, but the greenback slipped against the safe-haven yen on risk aversion.
The euro earlier touched its lowest level against the dollar in more than seven weeks, at $1.1181 EUR= , on the after-effects of the Fed minutes released on Wednesday.
For a full report, double click on USD/
- - - -
TREASURIES
NEW YORK - U.S. Treasury prices rose on Thursday as markets rebounded from Wednesday's sell-off and priced down the odds of a Federal Reserve interest rate increase after evenhanded remarks from New York Fed President William Dudley.
Two-year Treasury notes US2YT=RR rose 1/32 in price to yield 0.88 percent. Yields on the two-year note rose to as high as 0.92 percent in earlier trading, a two-month high.
For a full report, double click on US/
- - - -
COMMODITIES
GOLD
NEW YORK - Gold slid more than 1 percent to a three-week low on Thursday, extending the previous day's decline, after minutes from the Federal Reserve's April policy meeting signaled that it could raise U.S. interest rates as soon as next month.
Spot gold XAU= was down 0.3 percent at $1,253.80 an ounce at 1:56 p.m. EDT (1756 GMT), off an earlier low of $1,244.00, its weakest since April 28. It fell 1.7 percent on Wednesday.
For a full report, double click on GOL/
- - - -
BASE METALS
LONDON - Copper slumped to a three-month low on Thursday, weighed down by a stronger dollar, the potential for a U.S. interest rate increase next month and worries about lacklustre demand. Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange CMCU3 ended 0.7 percent down at $4,580 a tonne, having touched its lowest since Feb. 17 at $4,540 and extending losses from the previous session.
For a full report, double click on MET/L
- - - -
OIL
NEW YORK - Oil prices tumbled on Thursday as U.S. rate hike expectations lifted the dollar, though some of those losses were pared on worries about more supply outages from Nigeria's main crude oil terminal.
Brent futures' front-month contract, July LCON6 , was down 46 cents, or 1 percent, at $48.47 a barrel by 1:33 p.m. EDT (1733 GMT). It had fallen as much as $1.55, or more than 3 percent, during the session low, to $47.38.
For a full report, double click on O/R
- - - -