----------------------------------------------------------------
07:26 / 1826 GMT ---------------------------------------------------------------- Stock Markets
NetChng
NetChng S&P/ASX 200
5,776.59 +71.79 NZSX 50
7,175.83 +27.05 DJIA
21,057.76 -57.79 Nikkei
19,564.80 +171.26 NASDAQ
5,873.25 -30.78 FTSE
7,382.35 -0.55 S&P 500
2,386.16 -9.80 Hang Seng
23,728.07 -48.42 SPI 200 Fut
5,752.00 -11.00 STI
3,136.48 +13.71 SSEC
3,230.57 -16.36 ---------------------------------------------------------------- Bonds
NetChg
NetChg AU 10 YR Bond
2.822 +0.023 US 10 YR Bond
2.500 +0.038 NZ 10 YR Bond
3.355 +0.000 US 30 YR Bond
3.092 +0.021 ---------------------------------------------------------------- Currencies
1700GMT
1700GMT AUD US$
0.7566 0.7649 NZD US$
0.7055 0.7124 EUR US$
1.0508 1.0526 Yen US$
114.50 114.18 ---------------------------------------------------------------- Commodities Gold (Lon)
1,238.10
Silver (Lon)
17.74 Gold (NY)
1,248.86
Light Crude
52.77 TRJCRB Index
188.94 -2.33 ---------------------------------------------------------------- Overnight market action with latest New York figures.
EQUITIES
NEW YORK - U.S. stocks retreated on Thursday as investors booked profits after a record run a day earlier, with Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT)'s slump dragging down the Dow Jones Industrial Average.
At 12:34 p.m. ET (1734 GMT), the Dow .DJI was down 65.2 points, or 0.31 percent, at 21,050.35, the S&P 500 .SPX was down 10.64 points, or 0.44 percent, at 2,385.32 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC was down 30.16 points, or 0.51 percent, at 5,873.87.
For a full report, double click on .N
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LONDON - European shares paused for breath on Thursday after a strong rally in the previous session, though there were sharp gains from Britain's Melrose and Norway's Subsea after well-received results. The pan-European STOXX 600 .STOXX index ended flat, weighed down by falls among basic resources .SXPP and banking stocks .SX7P .
For a full report, double click on .L
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TOKYO - Japan's Nikkei share average hit a 14-month peak on Thursday as the yen weakened against the dollar on heightened expectations for the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates this month and after Wall Street soared to record highs.
The Nikkei .N225 closed 0.9 percent higher at 19,564.80 after brushing 19,668.01, its highest since December 2015.
For a full report, double click on .T
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FOREIGN EXCHANGE
NEW YORK - The dollar gained to seven week highs against a basket of currencies on Thursday, after hawkish comments by a Federal Reserve official late on Wednesday encouraged investors to expect a near-term interest rate hike. The dollar rose 0.38 percent against a basket of six major currencies .DXY to 102.17, its highest since Jan. 11.
For a full report, double click on USD/
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TREASURIES
NEW YORK - U.S. two-year Treasury yields hit their highest in more than 7-1/2 years on Thursday, while other U.S. yields hit multi-week or multi-month highs on increasing expectations that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates at its March meeting.
Yields on U.S. two-year notes US2YT=RR , which are considered most vulnerable to Fed rate hikes, hit their highest since August 2009 at 1.324 percent. The three-year yield US3YT=RR reached a nearly 11-week high of 1.600 percent, while the benchmark 10-year US10YT=RR hit a two-week high of 2.494 percent.
For a full report, double click on US/
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COMMODITIES
GOLD
NEW YORK - Gold prices fell on Thursday, pressured by a stronger dollar on rising expectations of a U.S. rate hike in March following buoyant U.S. economic data.
Spot gold XAU= was down 0.7 percent at $1,240.66 per ounce by 1530 GMT. On Monday, the metal rose to $1,263.80, its highest since Nov. 11.
For a full report, double click on GOL/
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BASE METALS
LONDON - Copper fell on dollar strength on Thursday and after recent gains tempted investors to book profits, though sentiment remains underpinned by manufacturing reports from China and elsewhere that pointed to firmer demand.
London Metal Exchange copper CMCU3 ended down 1.4 percent at $5,930 a tonne, having hit its highest since Feb. 21 in the previous session. The metal hit a 21 month high last month on supply disruptions in Chile and Indonesia.
For a full report, double click on MET/L
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OIL
NEW YORK - Oil prices fell nearly 2 percent on Thursday after Russian oil production remained unchanged in February, showing weak compliance with a global deal to curb supply to tighten the oversupplied market.
Both benchmarks were 1.8 percent lower with Brent futures LCOc1 $1.02 lower at $55.34 per barrel and U.S. crude CLc1 down 98 cents lower at $52.85 by 12:44 p.m. EST (1744 GMT).
For a full report, double click on O/R
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